


Manage Me

by La_ember



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alpha James, F/M, Lily does Ballet, Marauders' Era, Quiditch, Slow Burn, art is for wizards too, dance, house wars
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 23:18:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14343057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/La_ember/pseuds/La_ember
Summary: Originally posted to FF.net, but I want to continue it here!At the end of 5th year, James and Lily reach an agreement. When 6th year starts with a shake up on the Quiditch team, a secret conflict among the Hogwarts houses is revealed. The Slytherin's seek to use it to cover their nefarious machinations in service of Voldemort. The Marauders can't let this happen. All the while James and Lily are trying to set difference aside and forge a new friendship.





	1. The Platform

**Chapter 1: The Platform**

It wasn't as if he hadn't been expecting it. 

Standing in a hallway with one of his best mates, James Potter grumbled to himself. He had known Remus wanted to break the news to him for half the summer but he had selfishly hoped Remus would feel too much guilt to go through with it.  

"Prongs, I'm sorry. I just can't keep doing it." It was more a nervous plea than a statement of resignation, as he spoke, Remus’s eyes shifted and he fidgeted with is fingers, wringing them nervously. James sighed, knowing he could not ask Remus to keep doing something he wasn't invested in, even if he wished he could persuade him otherwise. Remus was too good a friend to press into service, and lord new he had enough on his plate to stress about with our adding quiditch to the mix.

"Moony don't sweat it, McGonagall will pick someone else." His hand automatically rose to sweep through his already messy mop of hair, belaying his discomfort with the idea of a stranger taking up Remus's post. "I know you only volunteered last year to help me out, and you didn't even do much anyway."

The slight jab eased the tension between the two friends, as it was meant to and both boys laughed and turned to head back into the sitting room down the hall.

"Really James, that's why I am stepping down, so that this year you can have a manager who knows something about the sport. Someone who can hopefully give you a hand, maybe even make your job easier." The smile and easy confidence had returned to Remus's face as he nudged James with his elbow.

James returned the grin, but with less ease and confidence as he let the truth of that statement settle around him. More than likely, McGonagall would be flooded with raving fourth year girls eager to fill the role of team manager. The team would be stuck with someone who would only show up to stare at James’s male quiditch mates and make herself even less helpful than Remus had been. But James did not share these fears as they reemerged into the sitting room occupied by the rest of his friends. He felt no need to make Remus feel like he was leaving him in the lurch.

Tomorrow started their sixth year at Hogwarts. Tomorrow, he would beg Professor McGonagall not to appoint a manager at all.

* * *

Platform 9 ¾ was deserted when sixteen-year-old Lily Evans arrived. She was not surprised however, as it was 7:34 in the morning and the train did not depart until eleven.

She stood for a moment and marveled at the empty platform, even devoid of the shining red steam engine she would be boarding in a few hours. In the five years she had been coming to the platform, it had never been empty before, not even close. The uncharacteristic emptiness filled her with an uneasy awareness of how alone she was. The ominous cover of the  _ Daily Prophet _ she carried with her was a reminder of how dangerous it was to be by oneself during these dark times. Lily shrugged her shoulders subconsciously, pushing off the nerves she felt, knowing there was nothing to be done about it now.

Mr. Evans usually scrambled his schedule to make the time to deliver his youngest to the Hogwarts Express, juggling the sporting events he covered and submitting his articles well before his deadlines so he could afford the hour it took to see Lily off. He took his job as a sports writer very seriously and was one of the most respected in his field. This year however, he had been unable to find the time on September the first for his youngest and Lily was honestly surprised it had taken this long for her father to disappear from this aspect of her life as well. Her older sister Petunia had reluctantly agreed to deliver Lily to Kings Cross on her way to work. Her agreement had only been secured after Lily had threatened that missing the train would mean she would still be at home.

If Lily had found herself in this predicament before this year, it would have been easy to travel to Kings Cross with Severus. But Severus was no longer an option and Lily pushed him out of her mind, not wanting to dwell on what she had lost at the end of her fifth year.

With a sigh, she double-checked that her wand was tucked safely into her zip-up and wheeled her trunk against a wall. She set herself on it, crossing her legs, her kitten curled in its small carrier next to her. She felt safer with her back against the wall and the platform visible all around her. Lily Evans stared sadly at the cover of the Daily Prophet for a moment before flipping past the doom and gloom splashed across the front page. Opening to the sports section, she settled in to read.

***

Two hours later she still sat alone, now hoping that the train would arrive before anyone else appeared on the platform. Lily would have preferred to hide her extremely early arrival and avoid the need to explain her singular presence. However at half past nine she still sat alone and felt slightly awkward that she would soon be discovered. She suppressed her discomfort, reminding herself there was nothing embarrassing about being prompt. Busying herself with the paper, she pretended not to notice the boisterous group entering at the other end of the platform.

"Mum! We beat the train! I told you we could have slept in." James Potter looked smugly down at his mother with a gleam of mischief in his hazel eyes.

His mother, a petite woman with the same mischievous air, laughed and swatted his arm. "Oh James, I can't help that you are finally growing up! Last year I woke you lot at the same time and we almost  _ missed _ the train."

Her heels clicked as she walked further onto the platform, gesturing with her arms wide, "I did always like seeing the platform empty as a girl," she smiled and turned in a circle, catching sight of Lily against the far wall, "We are not the first! Isn't that Miss Evans?"

James’s head shot up in surprise. When he caught sight of the slight redhead sitting on her trunk, a huge grin spread across his face. It took no time for James to cross the platform, his long stride eating up the distance as the sound of his mother's tittering voice stalled his three friends in the background. As solemn as his marauder vows were, his mother would always be his first accomplice. 

At the end of their fifth year, James Potter and Lily Evans had come to an understanding. A number of events had transpired just before OWLS, resulting in a fight the likes of which had not been seen before in the Gryffindor common room and was likely - well _hopefully_ \- never to be seen again. Words had been exchanged and a promise of violence had hung in the air, warding off any of their friends who would have intervened. But by the end of OWLS, James found himself still pondering the last thing Lily shouted at him.

_ "Potter, how do you expect to date me when you don't even know me?" _

That was exactly what James resolved to do. As they left the Hogwarts Express to begin their summer, he stopped her on the platform after she ahd said goodbye to her friends and told her so.

" _ Evans!" He shouted, chasing after her off the train. She whirled, red hair flying, and shot him a venomous glare. _

" _ I am going to get to know you, Evans. Because you were right." Eyes wide, he held his breath as she looked up at him, her expression softened in thought as she stayed silent for a long moment. _

" _ In that case, you could try calling me Lily." Her smile was small and hesitant and did not reach her eyes, as though she didn't feel comfortable with her own decision. She turned to leave but James called out again. _

" _ Lily!" She stopped but only to look back questioningly over her shoulder. "Have a good summer." He waved her off and smiled brilliantly. She smiled hesitantly and called over her shoulder, _

_ "Same to you James." _

With thoughts of what had passed between them the last time they stood on Platform 9 ¾ , James approached her with an exuberant smile, only slightly hesitant of disturbing the tenuous peace established at the start of summer. Two months could have strengthen her resolve towards friendship, or given her enough time to regret their tenuous peace. At this moment Lily seemed completely unaware of his approach, poring over her newspaper with a pencil and a focused expression.

"Hey Lily."

The sound of his voice shocked her out of a quiditch-score haze. Her arms flew up, sending the paper and pencil flying. The trunk, still on the trolley, rolled forward as she hopped back against the brick wall. She let out a loud yelp and her green eyes grew large as she fell backwards. James stepped forward quickly, blocking the trolley with his leg and stopping her fall with his hands, catching Lily up behind her head and waist.

His smile was dazzling but honest as he said, "Caught you," as if she were the snitch. She stared dumbfounded into his hazel eyes as he lifted her easily and slid the trunk back under her. Time felt like it had slowed to a crawl as Lily's mind jumped from memories of their last encounter on the platform to her lonely summer, the first summer she ever spent friendless, and the part James had played in it.  She had also spent a whole summer brooding and pondering their fragile truce, and Potter’s proclamation of his intentions. Just as James had settled her back on solid ground, her mind settled and echoed with resolve. _ 'Give him a chance'.  _ Lily sighed as she said his name, almost like a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

"Potter." James’s eyes flashed and she stuttered, "er...James" She instantly felt silly, wondering why she suddenly found herself so inarticulate.

But Potter didn't miss a beat. "Present," he quipped, "which is more than I can say for you."

She bristled momentarily before seeing the look of amusement in his eyes, tinged only with warmth and lacking any of the malice she had expected to see.

_ Cool it,  _ Lily thought to herself.

"Sorry, you startled me,” she said aloud.  “Oh, bugger, and now I've lost my pencil!" She scrambled about the top of the trunk picking up her  _ Daily  _ Prophet and scooting closer to the cat-cage to make room for James on the end. She did not notice the steadying hand James left on the trunk that kept it steady for her.  Lily kept her eyes trained on the sports page for a moment longer before looking at James, feeling slightly unsure of how to approach him as a candidate for friendship, so she tried to keep it light.

"How long have you been on the platform? I think it looks quite odd without the train." She cringed to herself wondering why she had chosen something she hadn't wanted him to notice. Why hadn’t she just gone with the generic, ' _ how was your summer? _ ' But seeing as that was also a subject she wished to avoid, she supposed it was a lose-lose situation.

James cast a sidelong look at her before gazing at the spot soon to be filled by the massive engine. "I just got here. How long have  _ you _ been waiting?" James’s tone was conspiring as if he suspected something, and Lily had a suspicion that he would be displeased to learn she had been sitting at the station alone for over two hours. "Long enough to read the Prophet cover to cover I see,” he said. “Is that a muggle paper you have there as well?"

James turned his full gaze on her and behind his glasses; Lily could see the beginnings of a reprimand. The high handed and imperious James Potter was lurking beneath the surface. But reminding herself of her promise to give James Potter a second chance, she firmly skirted the issue, giving him the choice to move towards friendship rather than to adopt his usual high-handed attitude. 

"Yes,” Lily said. “Well, nothing interesting in either today I'm afraid. Have you seen the sports page? There is a very interesting preview of the rest of the season." She held it out to him, hoping he would disregard the notes covering the margins, a clear sign she had indeed been on the platform for quite some time.

James scanned the pages and behind his glasses his eyes narrowed once again. Fearing the upcoming rebuke from pretentious Potter, Lily prepared herself to let go of the idea of James as a candidate for friendship. So when the next words out of his mouth were, "You really think the Cannons are going to beat Falmouth this weekend?" she took longer than usual to answer.

"Well, yes. The Falcons will be forced to start their back-up seeker because Nathanson is suspended. The second stringer is definitely back up for a reason, rather awful if you ask me. Not to mention Faungood has been out for a month. His arm will be out of practice! And yes, the Cannons as a team are rather rubbish this season, but not their keeper. Racking up points will be hard for Falmouth without their chasers in tip-top shape, especially against McPherson." She paused and looked up at his face, noting that both eyebrows were raised behind his glasses before continuing, "Besides I can't resist rooting for the underdog."

James let out a low whistle and leaned back against the wall. "Well Miss Evans, I never knew you were so well-versed in quiditch! I am pleasantly surprised."

She looked down with a half-smile "You aren't going to argue? No one picks the Cannons over anyone, especially not against the Falmouth Falcons."

"No, I think you are spot on. I’ve been arguing with Sirius over that match for the past week, I am glad to have found an ally."

Lily laughed at that. "I think that is the first time we have agreed on anything."

The Hogwarts Expressed arrived unnoticed by the two as they spoke, and the platform was suddenly filled with people. Lily found herself relieved to have her first encounter with James Potter unfolding quite well. Knowing that even as friends they would have their share of disputes, she was glad they avoided any confrontation in their first conversation of the year. It felt like a fresh start.

James walked her to the train and helped her load her trunk and her cat cage she kept with her. The ginger tomcat was on the small side, with big, light-green eyes and long whiskers.

James looked closely into the cage, smirking at the similarities in color between kitten and owner. "What's his name?"

"Sir Lionel." Lily's tone was matter of fact as she pushed aside a twinge of uncertainty, worried the bullying toe-rag Potter she remembered from her first five years at Hogwarts would reemerge to taunt her. Even she acknowledged to herself that naming her cat a peer of the realm was a bit odd.

Instead, James smiled and asked "Little lion is it?"

Lily forced herself to relax and gave James a quivering smiled. "No, it's  _ Sir  _ Lionel. You can drop the title once you become better acquainted." She pulled her messenger bag over her shoulder. "Thanks for your help, James. I'll see you on the train."

* * *

 

Across the platform Remus Lupin was grinning smugly, while one Sirius Black, was gaping like a fish. Having expected the first of many catastrophic fights to explode between James and Lily, the sight of them sitting together on her trunk looking almost amicable had been rather shocking.

"It would seem Mrs. Potter was right about him growing up,” Remus said to a still bewildered Sirius Black. 

 

Thanks for reading! Comments and critiques are appreciated!

I dont own Harry Potter!!!! 


	2. The Inner Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me, but to JKR!

Lily's compartment on the train was bursting with sounds of a joyous reunion. The four sixth-year Gryffindor girls were inseparable at school and the three-month break was long for all of them, but they were quickly sinking back into their typical routine.

Charlotte and Emily Davenport, pureblood identical twins with opposite personalities, were speaking animatedly about their summer holiday in Italy. The twins were finishing each other's sentences about masquerades, gondolas, and the Italian magical history tour that Emily insisted on taking. Emily was one of the top students in their year, sharp as a tack and with a dry sense of humor. Em's appreciation of Italian history ran far deeper than that of her sister.

Charlotte had been more taken with Italian men and so did not interrupt much while Emily spoke of the history of the Venetian Canal system. However she did interject with a story about a gondolier she snogged instead of attending a tour of the Medici family manor, much to Emily's chagrin. Charlotte, though she and Emily shared the same features, wore her hair longer so it curled at the end, and her hair was a sun-kissed chestnut, the product of a hair potion Charlotte excelled at brewing. Charlotte, though more concerned with boys and beauty magazines, did share in her sister’s sharp wit and was cunning in her own sly way.

Lily and Anne could not help but laugh until their sides hurt as Charlotte related her tale of a snogging session gone awry on the canals of Venice.

"…I only speak enough Italian to know when someone wanted more. How was I supposed to know he was saying, ‘Watch out the side walk ends’?"

Anne White, a half-blood and the fourth of their quartet, clutched her stomach, gasping for breath between laughs "What do you mean, _ends_?"

Charlotte flipped her curling sun-kissed hair daintily, "Well, it ended and the canal began."

Lily wiped tears from her eyes, "Tell me you fell in. Oh, please tell me you fell in a canal while snogging some smarmy Italian!"

"Oh tosh! Of course I didn't." Charlotte rolled her eyes and smiled coyly. "The smarmy Italian was not so lucky."

A fresh gale of laughter swept the compartment as all four girls, even Emily who had held out until the end, were holding their sides and gasping with mirth. Lily suddenly realized how much she missed this. The laughter and friendship, sharing stories, even just having people to talk to, all of these things were absent from her summer holiday. Her Gryffindor friends had all gone travelling across Europe, and her childhood friend and next-door neighbor, Severus Snape, turned himself into someone she didn't recognize. But Lily had moved on from that betrayal and it was firmly behind her.

This compartment and the people in it, the rest of her House, and lovely Sir Lionel would all be there for her in the months to come. The summer had been a trial but she knew that if she had survived three months in a house with no one but Petunia for company, her sixth year at Hogwarts would be a breeze without Severus Snape.

"Have I introduced you ladies to Sir Lionel?" She held up the ginger cat in her lap and nuzzled into his cheeks, squishing his whiskers. Sir Lionel was met with a chorus of “Oohs” and “Aaahs” from the twins. But Anne, always the comedian, clutched Sir Lionel’s paw and curtseyed deeply. Anne's blond curls bounced against her shoulders as the train jostled her almost to floor.

"Oh my Lord! What a pleasure to make your acquaintance! Are you perhaps related to the Duke?"

All four girls erupted with giggles, unable and unwilling to bring themselves under control. They all felt the determination to carry the infectious and cheerful atmosphere into their sixth year at Hogwarts.

 

* * *

 

The feast was in full swing. The first-years were sorted and Sirius had already earned a detention from Professor McGonagall for bewitching all of the benches at the Slytherin table with a slippery jinx. When everyone stood to greet the Headmaster, Sirius Black - with Remus’s help - surreptitiously took advantage of the opportunity. When everyone returned to their seats, the entire Slytherin house slid right off and onto the floor to the delight of the rest of the hall. One unfortunate sixth year had taken a whole patter of Yorkshire pudding to the floor with him as he fell.

All should have been well for James Potter. But it wasn't.

James was agitated and cross, partially because Sirius and Remus had teased him mercilessly for his early morning chat with supposed enemy-turned-friend Lily Evans. But the larger cause for his black mood was the quidditch manager debacle.

In between ribbing James about Lily, Remus had told the other Marauders about his decision to step down as Gryffindor team manager. And James, in between withstanding the combined wit of his friends, shared his concerns about Remus's potential replacement.

Peter Pettigrew - the third Marauder - was quiet, but an excellent listener and thus the appointed lead gossip of the group. Peter personally preferred the title, “Intelligence-Gatherer”.

"... she has the team’s best interest in her sights. She wants to win almost as bad as you do, James," Remus was saying. He was trying to convince Sirius and James to have faith in Professor McGonagall.

Peter spoke up, interrupting Remus. “You know, I've got a list of everyone who wanted Manager last year. There were a whole lot of people who were looking to get it before Moony stepped up." Peter took a big bite of pudding before looking at the silent faces of his friends, who were all a little dumbfounded by his choice to keep silent until now.

"Well?" James and Sirius asked in unison, looking comical with treacle tart hanging out of their mouths.

Swallowing hastily, Peter obliged. "There were a few blokes. Hastings was interested, but then he made the team as a reserve chaser and Donovan was also keen on it, but now he's a beater." Peter paused and the atmosphere was almost hopeful as James and Sirius anticipated the rest of the Gryffindor men interested in the Manager job.

"But everyone else was a girl. The entire fourth year girl’s dormitory spoke to McGonagall about getting the job. There were a few other girls, no one younger than third year." Peter shrugged in apology; feeling sorry for dashing the hopes of his friends. The job of being Quidditch Manager was not terribly glamorous, and the only real draw for anyone who didn't already play on the team might have been working with dashing Quidditch Captain James Potter and the handsome heartbreaker Sirius Black.  Neither of which had been a draw for Remus. That was perhaps the only reason he was a successful team manager the year prior.

The noise in the Great Hall rose higher, signaling the end of the feast. All the other houses started ushering the younger students through the large doors of the Great Hall. Remus jumped up with a hasty wave goodbye to his friends. His fellow Gryffindor Prefects were waiting on him to usher the younger students to the common room. However his fellow sixth year, Lily, was conspicuously absent.

James, who was not please by the news that the entire fifth-year female population of Gryffindor was interested in managing his Quidditch team, stood up as abruptly as Remus.

"I’m talking to McGonagall now, there is no way I can wait, not with the thought of Amber Roberts managing the team,” James said.

Sirius shuddered dramatically at the thought of the obnoxious fifth-year Amber Roberts, the ringleader of an overzealous group of girls who had a habit of stalking him and his fellow Marauders. He clapped James on the back. "God speed man, don't let me down."

 ***

Lily subconsciously smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear and tugged down her skirt before knocking on Professor McGonagall's door.

"Enter."

Behind the door, Professor McGonagall smiled as Lily passed the threshold. She was usually an exacting  woman who's persona gave the distinct impression that nonsense would be met with an iron fist. So when Lily saw McGonagall smile, an expression that could almost be described as scheming, it was unsettling to say the least. Even to Lily who was, of course, on the Professors good side.

"Good evening Professor." Lily stood awkwardly just inside the doorway, unsure of what to make of the Professor’s mood.

"Please have a seat Ms. Evans; I would like to discuss something rather unorthodox with you.” She gave no pause before continuing, leaving Lily flummoxed as she fumbled to pull out the chair in front of McGonagall’s desk.  “Mr. Lupin has abdicated his position as Manager for the Gryffindor team and I have heard from Horace what a Quiditch aficionado you are. I know your father is a muggle sports columnist and, despite the fact that the position of Manager is not often awarded to someone who has not enquired, I would like to offer you the opportunity to manage the Gryffindor team."

Lily stared at McGonagall across the desk in disbelief, but could not hide the interest and excitement that flickered across her face. She would love the opportunity to work with the team. Quiditch held a special magic for her that went beyond Transfiguration and Charms. The combination of flying ability and athleticism was amazing to her and her own lack of prowess on a broom only added to her wonder. Last year when the position had opened, Lily seriously considered speaking to McGonagall about it, but up until recently she would not have considered attempting a working relationship with James Potter.

Her former closest friend, Severus Snape, would have had a fit if she purposely chose to put herself in a position that required working with James. He actually yelled at Lily when she brought it up at the start of the year. Until her fifth year, Lily really hadn’t thought about what her friendship with Severus cost her. Until her fifth year, Severus looked at her without prejudice and as an equal.  But now that had all changed. It was painfully obvious what he thought of her now.

After establishing a truce with James, Lily's views began to change. Over the summer, she realized Severus’s negative outlook on Gryffindor and his growing hatred for muggleborns had effected too many of her choices. She was lucky to have made friends like Emily, Charlotte, and Anne who understood her loyalty to Severus Snape and her hope that maybe she could sway him from his interest in the dark arts and blood purity. They looked past it and befriended her in their second year, despite her questionable relations.

Severus Snape's opinions were no longer important to her, and that made it much easier to accept the position of Quiditch Manager. Lily still had lingering doubts about working with James, but they’d never really had a go at getting along, so she told herself would not know until she tried. Lily just hoped James would be as open to the idea as she was.

As luck, or perhaps fate would have it, at that moment James Potter barged into McGonagall's office breathing heavily and looking slightly crazed. _He would have to actually be crazy to barge into Minerva McGonagall’s office without knocking,_ Lily thought to herself.

"Please Professor…as Captain…don't appoint a Manager." He was bent forward with his hands on his knees. "Sorry, I, er, ran from the great hall." Catching his breath, James finally saw Lily looking at him with wide eyes, sitting forward on her chair as if she wanted to get up. It was obvious James was not expecting Lily Evans to be sitting there.

"Professor, you want _Evans_ to be manager?" James was connecting the dots, putting together what he heard in the hallway just before barging in and the scene that was before him. Meeting Lily's incredulous stare, he gaped like a fish out of water, shocked but not unpleasantly so.

Professor McGonagall was not amused and the iron fist replaced her former smile, but not the twinkle in her eye. "Yes, Potter. Miss Evans is more than qualified. I know she will be diligent in helping the team succeed this year." She smiled at Lily and dismissed them, and only as she was passing through the doorway did Lily realize she had never said yes. However, she quickly decided she didn’t necessarily want to say no, so it was a moot point. McGonagall’s dismissal brokered no argument, as she had never even given James a chance to respond.

After being ushered rather abruptly from the Professor’s office, the two walked up to the tower together. It was a silent walk and slightly uncomfortable as both sixth years were deep in thought. James was remembering their chat on the platform that morning, recalling the sports section of _The Prophet_ covered in Lily's small script and her assessment of the Falcons v. Cannons match that coincided with his own. As far as Managers go, Lily would definitely be useful. But James knew, even if she couldn't tell a quaffle from a snitch, he was over the moon to have Lily managing the team.

As they approached the entrance to the common room, James broke the silence. "Evans, I…" He intended to tell Lily how glad he was to have her, but she interrupted.

"Look James. I know that I've always been rather vocal about thinking you were a bullying toe-rag, and yes, perhaps for the first five years, one of my best mates was a blood-prejudiced Slytherin bastard. But I love Quiditch. I'll put as much effort into the team as you do, and I consider it my responsibility to do the best job as manager that I can." She looked at him then, her face turned up to meet his eyes, and he saw her determination. "I'll do it all - schedule the pitch, help you organize the play book, track player statistics, anything the team needs I will get it done."

Swallowing down the triumph he felt at hearing Lily acknowledge Snape as a ‘blood prejudiced bastard’, James tried to focus on the more relevant second half of her speech. James already acknowledged to himself that developing their working relationship would be hard, considering their interactions up to this point were hostile at best. Standing together in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, he felt good about where this was going. He knew if they both tried, a working relationship would be a cinch. Friendship wouldn't be that hard either. He was more than willing to have her working as Manager for the Gryffindor team; he just had to get Lily to understand that.

"I Know you will go above and beyond, Evans. Really, I could not be happier to have you." James ruffled his hair awkwardly, hoping he wasn't laying it on too thick. "I'm looking forward to the help… I mean Remus is one of my best mates and all… but he didn't do anything useful last season. He doesn’t actually know anything about Quiditch. I thought McGonagall was giving the job to one of those fifth-year girls." He shuddered at the thought and smiled at her with honest hazel eyes, encouraging her to embrace the idea of an Evans-Potter relationship that didn't involve hexes and angry shouting.

Rather than look fully relieved, Lily shifted from foot to foot and looked down, hiding her face behind a curtain of red hair.

"I just thought, because you were back to calling me Evans, and what you said in McGonagall's office, that you didn't want to work with me. And really, like I said, I understand, it's…"

"Lily! That's not it." He put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jerk her head up. "Using last names is just, I dunno, the way it works with Quiditch. No one uses first names on the pitch! And I'll admit, old habits die hard, but… Lily Evans, I could not be happier that you have been appointed to the position of Gryffindor Team Manager."

Lily smiled up at him, hesitant but real, in a way that James had never seen directed at him. That look sent chills racing down his spine and warm awareness of his hand still on her shoulder.

"Then what do you call Charlotte and Emily? Isn't that confusing?” she asked

"Always asking the tough questions, aren't you Lily? Well… we call Charlotte ‘Dave’, mostly because it annoys her, and Emily is ‘Port’. Dave-en Port. Get it?" James was smiling cheekily at the explanation and Lily found it hard not laugh at the thought of Charlotte Davenport answering to the nickname Dave.

"I meant it Lily, I'm glad to have you on as manager, and the rest of the team is going to be thrilled, obviously."

"Good, me too James."

 ***

Preparing for bed that evening, Lily related the story of her meeting with McGonagall and her new position as Manager of the Gryffindor Quidditch team to her dorm mates.

Charlotte, Emily, and Anne were the starting chasers for the Gryffindor team, and they were a force to be reckoned with. The combination of the Davenport twin powers and their five years of living with Anne helped them to function like a well-oiled scoring machine. That and Potter's practice regimen was so intense, it would be impossible for the girls not to be anything but a stellar group of chasers.

For the three teammates, learning that their fourth roommate and best friend would be joining them on the Quidditch team was like Christmas come early. Charlotte squealed and hugged Lily tightly to her, yammering on about all the fun things Lily could now partake in. Em came to the rescue, pulling her out of Charlotte's arms with a smile.

"I always thought you would make an excellent manager. McGonagall knows what she is doing, and she does not mess around with her house team."

Anne high-fived her - as a half blood she was more familiar with the muggle custom - and at that moment a high-five was called for.

The girls moved around the room chattering mostly about the Quidditch team. Anne pushed open one of the tower windows. The early September air was pleasant and all four sixth years were clinging to the last remnants of summer. Anne was in her matching tie-dye pajama shorts and t-shirt, stuffing her books in her bag, wondering why they wouldn't all fit, forgetting she hadn’t cast her enlarging charm yet. She looked up at Lily who was putting her clothes away in her bureau. Taking pity, Lily waved her wand and cast the charm on Anne's bag.

"Oh thanks Lils. By the way, being manager and all…what about James?"

Lily shrugged as she pulled her pajamas out of her trunk and began to get dressed for bed. "We decided to start over. Remember when I yelled at him last year? And I said he can't expect to date me without knowing me first?" She pulled on her Gryffindor striped boxer shorts and turned her back to remove her shirt and bra in exchange for her thin white night shirt. "He said I was right." She turned back around to face Anne, and found all three of her roommates looking at her with varying expressions of amusement and skepticism.

"What? Just because we argue doesn't mean we won't work it out in the end. Plus, I promise to put Quiditch above all and any petty disputes I have with James."

Em gave Lily her signature eyebrow raise, "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Just trust me, all right?" Lily turned one shoulder and looked over her back at her bum, quickly changing the subject. "Do you think I've out grown these pajamas?"

It seemed that Lily's declaration of putting all disputes with James to the side was soon to be tested. Instead of Charlotte or Anne answering her clothing-related question, it was a male voice that chimed in from the wall next to her bed.

"No they look perfect."

The slightly strangled voice of James Potter was one of the last voices she expected to hear at that moment. And in her surprise and anger, Lily acted in an instant, sending one of her strongest bat-bogey hexes at the male intruder in her room.

"How in Dumbledore's name did you get in here?" Lily shrieked angrily at a very gooey James Potter.

She could hear her friends laughing hysterically in the background. Emily paused her merriment long enough to shout, "Secret Passage!"

"Why in the hell are you using a SECRET PASSAGE to sneak into the girl's dormitory at night? Wait a second. What secret passage?" Her voice continued to rise in pitch as she grew angrier, and she looked like she might hex James a second time.

James cleared some of the goo off of his face, "Come on Lily, how was I supposed to know you wore so little to bed?"

Lily crossed her arms and continued to glare, her green eyes practically shooting sparks. "You aren't supposed to know what I wear to bed, Potter! That's the point of separate dormitories!"

"She has you there, Prongsie." The sound of Sirius Black's voice coming from behind James shocked Lily into awareness of her lack of clothing. The doorway to the secret passage was hidden behind the tapestry on the wall by her bed; it led straight to the bathroom in the boy's dormitory Sirius Black appeared fully from behind the tapestry and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Nice t-shirt, Lily-flower."

She grunted indignantly and jumped behind the curtains hanging on her four poster, and poked her head out.

"Oh, are Remus and Peter coming as well? It's a shame I didn't decide to sleep naked tonight, just so I could have put on a proper show." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm but the bed curtain, in the same deep red as her cheeks, ruined the effect.

She glared at her friends, who were all still recovering on Anne's bed. They were all conspicuously clothed in their bathrobes.

"You lot knew they were coming didn't you?” she said. “Traitors." She huffed behind her bed curtain. It wouldn't be so bad if she hadn't filled out a bit over the summer. She wasn't a beanpole anymore, and she was starting to notice it in the way her clothes fit her. Thankfully, Charlotte brought her a peace offering in the form of her bathrobe.

When she came out from behind the curtain, Sirius and Em had managed to clean James off. Meanwhile, Walter 'Walley' Donavan the team’s other beater, and Samuel 'Sam' Cavendish team keeper, had also appeared. They were both carrying their brooms over their shoulder after they flew through the window Alice had opened earlier.

"What is going on? What is the Quiditch team doing in the sixth year girl's dormitory?" Lily sank on to her bed waiting for an explanation. James started to answer, but Lily shot him a look and fingered her wand.

"Feeling lucky, Potter?"

He chuckled nervously and sat on the end of her bed.

"Back to Potter, are we?"

"It's a Quiditch thing."

Em interrupted their squabble from Anne's bed, straight to the point as always. "Yes Lily, this is the Quiditch team. It's our annual first meeting, and now that you are the Manager, you are part of the inner circle, so to speak."

James continued, hesitant at first, afraid Lily would hex him again. "Winning the Quiditch cup is a big deal. Even within our own house, we need to be secretive about the team. Anyone could overhear us talking about strategy or say something accidentally to someone who shouldn't hear it."

Lily was looking rather bemused, she had no idea Quiditch required such a high level of secrecy. But if this is how the team worked, she would go with it.

James pulled out a leather-bound notebook and handed it to her. "This is your team book. It’s enchanted so you can talk to anyone on the team. Just write their team number at the top of the page and the note will show up on whatever page is open." He pulled out a second book and a quill, "Here, I'll show you. Umm, what number do you want?"

Lily looked up startled; the rest of the team was sitting on Em and Anne's beds chatting while James gave her this orientation of sorts. When she agreed to the position, she didn’t think she would actually get her own _number_ ; she was just a manager who pitched in to help out with the dirty work.

"Um.. any number will do." Lily wasn't sure how she was supposed to become a member of the team. She was ready to help organize practice space, keep practices private, set up equipment and help record player stats… but she didn't know where the rest of team fit in to that agenda. Specifically where James Potter fit in the grand scheme of things.

"Alright, you can be lucky number seven." He winked at her and opened his leather bound book and began scribbling in it.

Lily’s own book soon changed minutely in appearance. A beautiful golden-knot border shimmered around the cover. She hadn't noticed it before and she ran her fingers over it, marveling at the intricate, thin gold pattern.

"Open it,” James prompted. “When the cover design appears it means you have a message."

She opened it to a random page and messy script blossomed across the parchment.

_Lily,_

_I'm sorry I saw you in your skimpy nightclothes. I told your roommates to tell you about the passage and I thought you knew we were coming._

_I hope you can still call me James,_

_James_

Lily didn't want to, but she smiled. It was the best apology she would get from James Potter.

"James," she said. He smiled his roguish smile, one she thought was a typical Potter smile, but seeing it up close she noticed it was far warmer than she remembered it.

"Let's talk Quidditch." 

***

Late into the night, James was lying awake in bed, unable to banish the image of Lily Evans' perfect bum in small Gryffindor striped boxer shorts. It was becoming obvious to him that arguing with his new team manager was going to be the least of his problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N: Wow writing is hard work! I hope people like it!  
> Are there things you like? Things you don't like? Things I could do better?  
> Feedback is appreciated :)


	3. Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine!

Lily often thought it would be an excellent idea to create a charm that worked like an alarm clock, but instead of just beeping, it would set your bed to become increasingly uncomfortable when it was time to get up.

That, or it could eject you; Lily could use that right about now.

After a late night discussing plans for the beginning of the season, Lily was supposed to be dragging herself out of bed at 5:30 in the morning so she could hopefully be the first team manager to sign up for practice time on the Quiditch pitch. But her warm four-poster bed and her snuggly ginger tomcat were making it exceeding difficult to throw back the covers.

Luckily, her bed did not need to resort to violence. Her magical alarm clock began to ring loudly; forcing Lily to grab for her wand to silence it before her other roommates groggily attacked her.

Now fully awake, she scampered about the room with haste, grabbing her wand and quickly but silently and running from the dorm, she hadn't even bothered to tame her bed head.

Making it to the Entrance Hall in record time, Lily did not stop to admire the beauty of the early morning sunrise that flooded the hall with golden light. She jetted right to the pitch sign-up sheet, relieved to find it blank and ready to be covered in Gryffindor practice times. Quiditch matches didn't start until mid-October, so James had decided to give the team a break on Friday and Sunday nights. She penciled them in for 6-9pm during the week and 1-5 on Saturdays, and then cast a permanence charm over her writing, not trusting the other team managers to leave her text un-tampered with.

Lily smiled at her first success as team manager and turned to head back to her dorm, with any luck none of the other girls would be up for at least an hour and she could take a very long shower. She had not made it far from the sign-up sheet however, when an icy voice stopped her in her tracks.

"What have we hear? Mudblood Evans doing Potters bidding?"

Orion Avery, Slytherin team manager, stood at the sign-up sheet smirking down at Lily from his superior height. He had high cheekbones and a halo of golden curls, Avery was beautiful in a masculine sense, but his eyes were a piercing blue and had a dangerous glint. His angelic looks barely hid the depravity that lurked behind his chiseled chin dimple. Lily had never heard his voice without a malicious undertone and it never failed to send a fine shiver down her spine. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her discomfort and did not bother to turn around.

"Perhaps you should spend less time yapping and more time scheduling. I've a feeling your team could use all the practice time they can get."

Avery's laugh was chillingly loud in her ear. When Lily looked over her shoulder, she found him looming behind her, his larger frame, cloaked in black, blocking out the golden sunlight streaming into the entrance hall.

"Little mudblood, you should watch yourself."

He was close now and his hand had snuck into her thick red hair, still mussed from sleep, his fingers twining for a moment before he yanked sharply emphasizing his message. For a moment Lily felt pain and fear, but those emotions were short lived. There was no way she was going to fall for Avery's pathetic attempts at intimidation or take his abuse without retaliation.

She ducked and turned, pulling away from his reach in one smooth motion. Without a second thought she pointed her wands at Avery and muttered the first spell that came to mind. "Tarantallegra."

Avery's legs took on a mind of their own as they launched into an impressive Irish jig and Lily tried to stifle a giggle. He wheeled and skipped, the force of his legs kicking up parallel to the ground before swiftly flying back through a complex weave of footwork. She may have been a prefect, but she wasn't about to let anyone mess with her, least of all a cruel snake like Orion Avery.

"I never pegged you for an Irishmen Avery."

Without a second glance she turned and climbed the stairs, the angry bellows of Orion Avery followed her up the first set of moving stairs. Lily felt no remorse for leaving Avery to jig until one of the other team managers showed up early in the entrance hall.

***

When Lily got back to the tower she still had time to take a decent shower. She also took a moment to let James know practice was arranged for the month of September via the quiditch journal. She thought about letting him know about her run in with Avery, but she didn't want to make a fuss. She was used to dealing with insults about her blood and wasn't convinced Avery's threats even had anything to do with quiditch, he had never needed reason to be a cruel bastard and his hostility was almost expected. Unwilling to drag James into it, she kept her note short; excluding her early morning Slytherin troubles.

Once the rest of her roommates began to wake up, the process of getting ready for the first day of class passed in a blur of uniform socks, makeup and hair potions. Anne couldn't find a single tie in her trunk and had to barrow one of Lily's, Charlotte was using a curling potion and her wand to perfect her chestnut waves, and Lily was tugging uncomfortably at her uniform skirt. Emily and charlotte shared a secretive smile from their beds. They had taken Lily's sixth year skirts and hidden them under her bed, leaving Lily with only her skirt from last year that was now an inch or so shorter than Lily was used to, but was a much more flattering fit.

Emily and Charlotte had a sneaking suspicion that Lily Evans needed only a slight push to come fully out of her shell. She had always been out spoken and opinionated in most aspects of her life. But in the 5 years they had known each other, Lily was the one who had always been responsible. Which explained what Emily called her 'Prefectitis'. Being responsible was not conducive to having a fulfilling experience as a 16-year-old girl, and Charlotte and Emily were proactively helping Lily get in touch with her slightly wild and rebellious side, or at least the side that liked boys and cute clothes. What better way than to wear a shorter skirt like every other girl in her year?

Of course it would have been more effective if Lily had come to this conclusion on her own, but the twins hoped that with a nudge in the right direction, Lily would eventually come around and fully embrace her feminine nature. Besides, Lily was only 5'3", so her fifth year skirt was still almost conservative, almost. Looking at Lily's legs Emily felt no guilt; Lily's skirt was nowhere near how short Amber Roberts wore hers.

While they walked to the great hall, Lily fell in next to Emily. She had been wondering if maybe she should let someone know she had argued with Avery. He was after all on an opposing team, but she wasn't sure if he qualified as important information. Emily was the most level headed of her friends, and she gave the best advice.

"What would you do if I told you Avery threatened me this morning while I signed up for practice time?"

Emily looked at her sharply and there was a note of urgency in her voice that Lily did not understand. "Define threatened."

Lily shrugged, feeling silly. What was she going to say, Avery Pulled my hair like a little girl?

"Well he came up behind me and pulled my hair and told me some rubbish about watching myself." Yes, this definitely sounded silly when she said it out loud.

But Em wasn't laughing. "That prat put his hands on you and then threatened you? What did you do to him?"

Lily blushed; Emily was too perceptive to think Lily hadn't retaliated. "Last I saw he was dancing an Irish jig in the Entrance Hall."

Emily sharp eyes took on a dangerous glint and she shook her head.

"Lily that was your first encounter with the Quiditch war. I was surprised Potter didn't say anything in the meeting last night, maybe he didn't think it was start up again so soon."

Lily wasn't fallowing, "Em, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Lily, Quiditch is not just a match played on the pitch. Every time we walk down the hall there is a chance someone from another team is going to try and get the jump on us. They will try and get you in trouble so you get detention and miss practice, or hurt you enough that you can't play in a game. It's not just Gryffindor and Slytherin, though most of the time our house and theirs are the most intense. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw play dirty too." She paused thoughtfully, "Maybe Potter didn't say anything because you are manager and he didn't think anyone would do anything to you."

Lily regarded Emily as they walked into the entrance hall, feeling a little upset, her prefect sensibilities offended. "How have none of the professors caught on? If they heard of this ridiculous and dangerous behavior the school would put an end to the Quiditch cup!"

Em looked at her with a sardonic eyebrow raise, "Exactly."

Lily mouth formed an O as she thought on the implications of a secret house war centered on the Quiditch cup. She had always known that competition for the cup was intense and that sometimes it got a little out of hand. After witnessing the level of secrecy involved in her own house's quiditch team she wasn't terribly surprised to learn that house teams took their competition off the pitch. Lily was a little upset that no one had seen fit to warn her about it though.

"I guess I was bound to have a run in eventually, so it's no big deal. You lot really should have given me a heads up you know."

"No big deal? You really don't know James."

Emily shook her head as they entered the great hall. Lily felt a chill go down her back and she knew Avery was staring at her with deadly intent from the Slytherin table, which she studiously ignored.

They approached the Marauders, seated in the middle of the Gryffindor table where James Potter looked absolutely livid. His hazel eyes burned behind his spectacles and made Lily feel warm all over, a nice change from the chills she was still feeling from Avery's cold glare. Remus and Peter were sitting as far as possible from him without looking too obvious, it seemed Emily had been right. Lily had no idea why James looked so angry, but a sinking feeling in her stomach made her think it had to do with her.

The girls began to take their usual seats, but James voice interrupted and he gestured to the space between Sirius and himself.

"Lily is sitting here."

"Excuse me?" Lily bristled at his words, she did not appreciate being ordered about by high handed James Potter. Emily shot her a heated glare and mouthed  _ 'sit down.' _ Not wanting to argue with Emily and James, Lily slid warily onto the bench.

At first James didn't say anything more, and Lily insisted on being standoffish, still miffed about being ordered to her seat. She began to spread butter on a blueberry scone as the tension mounted to an almost unbearable level. Sirius was the only one at the table who remained unaffected; he seemed to find the situation hilarious.

When James finally did break the silence, it was with a deceptively calm voice that was almost as scary as Avery's, but in a very different way.

"Lily, when did you plan on telling me you dueled Avery in the Entrance Hall this morning?"

Lily paused with the scone half way to her mouth; she did not like this line of questioning at all. 

"Never. I didn't duel anyone this morning. When were you going to tell me to watch my back? Or that there is a secret Quiditch war being waged that I am now a part of?" Lily's tone was conversational and light, as if she were discussing the weather and not accusing James of leaving her out of the loop on secrets that affected her wellbeing, secrets she deserved to know as a member of the Gryffindor Quiditch team.

Sirius was shaking with silent laughter next to her, clearly amused by their argument, and possibly excited that he would have a reason to go after Avery for attacking one of his teammates.

James was not buying her story. "Then why did I hear from a group of Hufflepuffs, that Avery was doing a jig in the entrance hall, screaming very unpleasant things about you." It was a statement not a question and Lily felt the anger building in his voice.

Lily dropped her scone and glared at him. "If you had bothered to ask what had happened rather than jumped to wild conclusions based on some blithering Hufflepuffs, I would have told you Avery pulled my hair like a little girl and told me to watch myself, so I hexed him. But with the way you are acting, I don't want to tell you anything."

At this point James was boiling with anger but did not say anything in response, either because he was trying to maintain his composure or because he was too angry to speak. The gravity of the situation was lost on Sirius who had fixated on Avery's decisions to pull Lily's hair.

"Avery resorting to 2nd year girl tactics, I wish I could have seen it!"

Remus, ever the voice of Marauder reason, was not sure it was a situation to be treated so lightly. "Lily, what do you mean he pulled your hair?"

Remus, like Emily, was aware that there was more to this than Lily was letting on. Lily also knew what Avery had done was much more dangerous than a 2nd year girl fight, but she could not see a way around giving a further explanation of that morning's events.

"He insulted me like he normally does and then came up behind me; he was trying to be intimidating I guess. He ran his fingers through my hair and told me to watch myself, then gave it a good second year girl yank." She gave Sirius's hair a playful tug, hoping to keep him laughing to lighten the mood, but even Sirius had sobered.

James was too angry to stay seated the table. He muttered, "Check your book" to Lily and left the Great Hall.

Left sitting at the table, Lily felt guilty and she wasn't sure why. It wasn't her fault Avery was a prick. And it wasn't her fault she had no idea she had been thrown into the middle of an inter house war.

Sirius spoke softly to her "You have to understand, he is mad at himself not at you. And I bet he is angriest at that prat Avery." Sirius threw an arm around her shoulder in a comforting gesture and Lily realized this was the first time she had ever really spoken to Sirius outside of classes. He seemed unfazed or unaware of this fact.

"James takes it upon himself to protect his friends, even if you don't need it, it's just the way he is."

Charlotte was sitting across from Sirius at the table and she joined in the explanation. "Now that you are on the team, you have officially fallen under the protection of James Potter. There is no way around it; Em has been trying to shake him since we made the team in third year. And he wasn't even captain then!"

She looked down at her book, trying to decide how she felt about James Potter looking out for her, feeling responsible for her. If she was honest with herself, she really wasn't all that opposed to the idea, just a little uncomfortable with it. 

She was comfortable looking out for herself and she prided herself on her independence. She had Charlotte, Emily and Anne at school, but until this year, they had been on the team while she had been on her own. Severus had never stood up for her, at school or back home on Spinners End. He couldn't afford to ruin his image by defending her, and she hadn't minded, glad that they could continue to be friends even if she could not rely on him. She had her sister and her father at home, but her father was never actually at home and her sister avoided her like the plague. The idea that James Potter had it in his mind to look out for her was a foreign concept.

She noticed the cover of her book was glinting with the gold knot pattern and feeling slightly apprehensive, flipped it open to a random page.

Two messages appeared on the page, the first was a poem She must have received last night from #17;

> _ Lilykins oh Lilykins _
> 
> _ Sweet manager of mine _
> 
> _ Most pleasured is a beater _
> 
> _ Who beats for any team of Thine _
> 
> _ Oh and by the way…Your bottom is divine. _
> 
> _ Yours #17, _
> 
> _ A master of Limerick and Rhyme _

Lily wasn't sure if she should be embarrassed or burst out laughing. Sirius had already started laughing again. She wondered how he chosen #17 to represet him in the book. 

"Is this what was so funny this morning Black?"

"Just keeping it light,  _ Lilykins"  _ He wiggled his eyebrows, his handsome face was smiling, but his dark eyes were still concerned.

Below the poem from Sirius, the words  _ Meet me in the Entrance Hall -#22 _ appeared on the page.  Knowing #22 to be the numerical moniker of James potter, Lily pushed back from her seat, blueberry scone forgotten.  Sirius had started reciting his poem to the rest of the team, who were roaring with laughter as she left the table, headed for the entrance hall.

***

In the entrance Hall, Lily saw no sign of James anywhere. The doors were open letting in a cool late summer breeze. Lily moved towards the doors thinking James might have gone out into the bright sunshine.

But close to the middle of the hall Lily felt a man move quickly behind her, she didn't think it was Avery because she hadn't felt the chill of dread race down her spine, but she couldn't be sure. She saw a big shadow in front of her that swallowed her own and in a flash she felt a hand sink into her hair at the base of her neck, just as Avery had done that morning. Lily started to struggle, but the hand on the back of her neck and the large male body behind her made it impossible. The memory of this morning and the knowledge that the mystery man behind her could very well be attacking her made her panic.

"Lily, calm down." The voice belonged to James and she sagged with relief, but her anger flared soon after.

She tried to turn and face him, ready to scream at him like he hadn't heard since the end of fifth year, but his hand on the nape of her neck was firm and prevented her from moving.

"Lily, please. I need you to realize what he could have done to you. Do you understand what could have happened?"

His voice was gruff but the hand on the back of her neck was warm and his thumb was absently rubbing against the soft skin underneath her ear, he was trying to scare her but he wasn't doing a very good job of it. She held on to her anger, still raging that he would man handle here like this, using it to anchor her against a tide of feelings she had never felt before.

"Shall I make you dance as well James? You would make a lovely ballerina." her voice was unsteady, but Lily didn't think it was out of fear.

The thumb stopped moving and his hand tightened the slightest bit. He stepped forward so her back was pressed into him and his full physical advantage was apparent. James and Avery had a similar build, both tall and muscled, though Avery was thicker, built more like a beater than a seeker like James. Even without the extra bulk, six foot tall James Potter had finally made his point. Lily was the smallest of her friends at five foot three and slender, she stood no chance against Avery if he were ever to get this close to her again, even with magic.

"I need you to understand Lily. This quiditch war is not a joke, it never has been. But with all the crazy stuff going on outside of Hogwarts, it's becoming more and more real. You need to understand you are a target. Avery underestimated you this morning, but you can bet that won't happen again."

Somewhere in the middle of his speech, James had reverted back to being a comforting presence behind her. The hand he kept on Lily's neck was gently rubbing the back of her head and she had subconsciously leaned fully back into his chest resting her weight on him. This whole situation with Avery and the threat of a Quidditch war had been a surprise and a bit frightening, but not enough to shake her determination to be an excellent manager. On the other hand, her current position with James Potter was beyond confusing.

"I understand what you are saying but, why didn't you tell me about this? I could have taken precautions this morning when I went to sign up if I had known."

Her question broke the spell they both seemed to be under and he pulled back from her quickly, looking sheepish. She turned and met his eye and blushed, but refused to acknowledge that anything out of the ordinary had transpired.

"I was worried it might change your mind about being team manager, and I didn't think anything would happen so soon. But I should have warned you, or at the very least went with you this morning. I'm sorry."

His sincerity was unnerving and the guilt she could hear in his voice made her heart beat faster. "Avery and a Quiditch war couldn't scare me away from managing the team, you're stuck with me. But next time there is a chance I could be attacked for my quiditch affiliation; feel free to let me know."

The doors to the great hall opened and students began to file into the entrance hall, looking over their new schedules and scattering off in different directions. Their friends emerged from the crowd and headed towards them, Charlotte and Em carried their bags and schedules.

Sirius draped his arm around James's shoulder steering them towards the dungeons for Potions.

"Hey Jamesie, did Lilykins read you my poem?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N: It is insane the amount of things I not only could be doing, but SHOULD be doing instead of writing right now. But I want to be writing this, so I am.  
> Thank you for reading and as always feedback is appreciated!


	4. Afraid of Flying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me but to JKR!

No self-respecting Slytherin would act on a threat the same day it was made, that would completely defeat the purpose of threatening someone. The Gryffindor Quiditch team knew this to be true, but it did not lessen the tension in that mornings double potions class they shared with the Slytherins.

James, who had joined the team in 3rd year, had the most experience with the Quiditch war. The fact that Avery was unlikely to make good on his threat today did nothing to quell James's suspicions. The rest of the Slytherin house surely had threats to make, and James knew they would come quick enough.

It annoyed him to start the term on the defensive. Granted no other house played as dirty as the Slytherins, but James still would have preferred to have made the first strike, even if it was as harmless as transfiguring the Slytherin team's robes into tutus at their first practice. But he wasn't too worried about how his team would handle themselves; with the exception of Lily they were all veterans of at least a year.

After this morning James knew Lily could take care of herself, he also knew after this morning she wouldn't have to. James was going to be sure Lily was never alone while she as out of the common room. In hindsight it would not be that difficult as their schedules were virtually identical. The only difference being her interest in Arithmancy, but she had that with Emily while he had Muggle Studies. 

To James this was just the natural thing. When he had found out about Remus's furry little problem, he had found a way to help him manage it. And when Sirius finally cut ties with his horrible family, James had supported him. He took responsibility for his friends, it was just who he was. And although Lily and James had never been on the best of terms, she was important to him for reasons beyond her new role as team manager.

His unorthodox approach in their first 5 years, the teasing and the constant pestering, the tedius requests for her to go out with him were all just misguided attempts to get her attention. James and most everyone else knew this. Their row at the end of fifth year had made him realize he needed to back off; he needed to give Lily the chance to get to know him. The thought had only recently occurred to him that perhaps he did not know Lily as well as he had thought either.

James looked at the back of the red head in front of him, feeling his cheeks warm at the memory of her long legs in her very short Gryffindor boxers. Her red hair was down today and the coppery auburn waves found a way to shine even in the dingy corridors leading to the potions classroom. He thought of the feel of her, leaning back against his chest and the soft skin of her neck under his fingers. In just one day his mental image of her had already changed for the better. James was determined he would not only look out for her and befriend Lily; he was going to learn her, all of her.

***

Most of the Slytherins were already seated in the potions room when the Gryffindor's arrived. Anne and Peter had opted out of potions; they no longer needed to take it after passing their OWLS. This created a bit of a seating quandary, but Remus who had formerly partnered with Peter, sent James a meaningful look as he took James's customary seat next to Sirius in the back of the room. Sirius gave him a dashing smile and blew him a kiss while batting his eyelashes, theatrical as always.

Lily sat alone at her usual table in the front left corner of the dungeon classroom. She didn't need a partner, James was pretty sure she could brew any potion Slughorn threw at them. But there was no way the portly potions master would let a student work alone, even his favorite student. James took the seat next to her, nervously clearing his throat to get her attention.

"Partners?"

At that moment Slughorn swept into the room, jovial as always. He was either dense or he studiously chose to ignore the palpable tension hanging in the potions room.

"Ah Yes! At last my advanced potions class, some of the best and brightest Hogwarts has to offer! To the pleasure of you all I am sure, you will notice that we are no longer limited by the least talented in the room, and you will find that this year I do intend to challenge you all to reach your highest potential."

Slughorn never failed to be as pleasant as possible, especially when he was insulting the intelligence of someone (or a few some ones) who he deemed below his acquaintance.

His round little body bobbed around the front of the room, taking note of the partnerships that had been maintained and the new pairs that had formed in the slightly altered class dynamic. His rich green velvet robes swished against the table leg as he stopped to beam at Lily.

"Hello my favorite flower! I am so glad to see you again; would you perhaps like to change partners?" Slughorn was never one to cross those related to wealth and power, and James Potter was certainly related to both of those things. But Professor Slughorn was also aware of the former working relationship of James and Lily. He supposed switching them would not only preserve the happiness of his favorite student, but also maintain the partial peace of his classroom.

"Perhaps you could partner with Severus? I have always wondered what my two best students could manage if the put their heads together!"

Slughorn was beaming, delighted with the brilliance of his own idea. But James saw Lily's face turn ashen and her eyes widen. Across the room, Snape looked disdainful, his long nose was crinkled at the thought of working with a Muggle-born, or at least it was the air he was putting on for his Slytherin cronies, James could not be sure.

"No. No Professor, I'm sure I am quite alright with James." Her voice had been shaky and Slughorn did not look convince, as he turned a distrusting eye to James.

"Yes professor, please. I would like to see what Lily could teach me." James was tempted to throw in a line about his father's desire to see him flourish in the subject because he knew Slughorn would drool at the chance to rub elbows with his parents of a more regular basis. He held back because he didn't much fancy the idea of looking like a prat in front of the whole class.

Luckily Slughorn beamed at his explanation as it was.

"Oh delightful Mr. Potter! I have had a feeling you have a wealth of untapped potions potential. Fine fine, let us carry on class!" He moved to the bored where he began his lecture on the first potion they would be brewing.

Under the table Lily's hand fisted in his robes and she tugged gently. He turned to her afraid she would be upset that he had sat next to her and caused a stir. But there was no way he would allow Snape to partner with her, especially after hearing her admission last night about Snape’s blood prejudice and her own vocalization that she did not wish for the pairing herself.  After last year and what he had done to Lily, and what his house was prepared to do to her, there was no way he could stand by and let it happen. 

Part of what had sparked their fight at the end of fifth year was his particular attitude towards Snape. But now, if Lily thought he would let a friend involve herself with someone who had insulted her to the highest degree, and could knowingly stand by and watch his house mate's target her, Lily had another thing coming. Lucky for James, this year Lily was manager of the Quidditch team and he could justify inserting himself into her business.

James's face reflected how upset his current line of thought was making him and Lily saw it on his face. Withdrawing her hand she pulled out her Quidditch book and hastily began to write. James removed his own, feeling a little sheepish for probably giving her the wrong idea.

_ Thank you. I don't know what I would have done if I had to work with him.-#7 _

His face flushed with relief and he smiled at her quickly before writing a reply.  _ Of course. I'm sorry I'm not a potions expert like you or Snape though. You will have to carry my weight, and I am quite heavy for someone so attractive. -#22 _

_ You may not be a potions expert, but you are also not a prat. -#7 _

James stared at the words on the page, written in Lily's neat script. It was the first time Lily had ever used the word prat in reference to himself and included the word 'not' in the same sentence. It was momentous, as backwards as that was. It was the first compliment he had ever received from Lily Evans. He clamped his mouth shut and basked in the moment, opting to not say anything to avoid saying something pratish, because even he could admit; sometimes he could be a prat.

***

The end of classes and a quick early dinner found Lily walking down alone to the Quiditch pitch. James had asked his three chasers, Lily's best friends, to keep an eye on her. Charlotte, Emily and Anne had yesed him to death of course. But really, with an hour before practice and first day of the semester excitement, her friends all had much better things to do than to keep track of her.

Her first day as an official member of the Gryffindor team had been an eye opener. She had never experienced a cold shoulder from a student in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff before, but today walking down the halls and in class the was definitely a chilly atmosphere any time she passed a player from another house, or a friend of a player from another house, even just fans of the game who didn't root for Gryffindor. They exuded cool hostility in their interactions with her. There had even been one Hufflepuff who had tried to hex her in the corridor. He missed however and hit some poor third year Ravenclaw who Lily then helped to the hospital wing.

All in all, this quiditch war seemed completely backwards. In a time when the Wizarding World was already being torn apart Lily saw no need for petty house warfare to spring up over a game, even if quiditch was one of her favorite things.

This did not mean the quiditch war would not affect her. Lily knew she could not change the fact that people would target her and that there was little she could do about it. Thinking about all these factors throughout the day, Lily had come up with a compromise that satiated the guilt she felt for being a part of this silly war that completely undermined her duties to support house unity. Never attack until provoked and support the team defensively.

Defensively speaking, it seemed very few people were willing to attack until someone else had made the first move. According the Emily, the war was fought mostly with petty hallway spell casting, but no house would hesitate to plan some sneaky and grand offensive strikes, it mostly came down to whose team captain had the balls to set their plan in action first. Some years were nastier than others; it usually depended on the overall dynamic and how the captains interacted. If they were on ok terms, it didn't really escalate beyond the corridors. Emily's predictions for this year were rather grim. She suspected that because James had built such a strong team who were all going to be back next year as well, competition would be fierce and not just between Gryffindor and Slytherin, the other houses would feel the need to get involved.

Emily's take on the upcoming year seemed to be in tune with the rest of teams. Lily had never realized how on guard James was at all times. Even when he was laughing and joking with the Marauders, he was still on high alert, ever vigilant of a potential incident with another house team. James had been the reason that Hufflepuff had missed her, and even though she had felt bad for that poor third year, she was glad he had intervened and it was not her head that swelled up like a balloon.

Even after a successful rescue or two, Lily felt a little irritated and insulted that James had been looking out for her all day. She was not used to anyone sticking up for her, especially James Potter. But by the end of the day (mostly after the thankfully avoided inflating head incident) she found she thought it rather sweet that he cared so much about his friends. She had seen him defend Anne and Peter as well that day, and she wondered if he had always been like this, and if so, how had she missed it?

_ Probably because even if he was nice to HIS friends he was still being a right prick to yours. _

She realized this thought was bitter and unkind, especially when she considered that the friend he was always mistreating actually turned out to be a snake in the grass, as much as it hurt to admit that. Lily was gladder than ever to have offered friendship to James Potter. She could see now that he deserved it.

That was the reason she was going down the pitch early, even thought she was alone and that was likely to annoy James. But really, she wasn't going to let this war get in the way of her doing her job that was what the other teams wanted in the first place. She was determined to contribute to the war effort, even if she did not plan on attacking, she could still be proactive. James shouldn't be the only one working that hard.

She had assumed there was a certain aspect of espionage associated with this crazy war game and she had been correct. Peter was actually the head of intelligence, because he was not a member of the team and did not participate in team meetings or practices, he was less suspect and he had no information to give away should he be caught. Lily found this idea of team secrets intriguing, she knew half the reason James had practice so late was because he hoped other captains would be less inclined to wait that late and because the darkness did something to cover their play movements, but with the lights that Madam Hooch controlled, that was mostly wishful thinking on James's part. Lily had a few ideas of her own on how to ensure private practices were kept secret. It was one way she could definitely help, the other teams would be furious if they could not scout out Gryffindor before the season started.

Lily was practically skipping at the thought of the first quiditch game. She had been thrust into this secret war zone that revolved around the quiditch cup of all things. But even the threat of violence could not keep her from getting excited about quiditch.

***

James and Sirius were the first to arrive, and though James was miffed Lily had come alone, he was too impressed with her handy work to really be angry. There was a wall of dark grey storm clouds thick and impenetrable to the eye circling the stands. From the outside you could not even see the goal posts. But on the inside the evening late summer sun still shone down on the green pitch as it began to set behind the forbidden forest. The pitch was a cloud fortress that no spying eye could penetrate.

"Blimey Evans! This is bloody brilliant!" It was Sirius who first expressed his amazement and Lily laughed, as his first reaction was to hop on his broom and fly through the clouds.

"Evans how did you do this?" Potter, still looking shocked and pleased, was all smiles as they entered the pitch together and walked to the center where the equipment chest sat waiting.

"Just a few weather charms is all. But there is also a perimeter charm on the Pitch so anytime someone enters my wand will vibrate, that way I'll know if someone tries to sneak a peek at practice."

Potter's smile grew larger still and Lily thought he looked rather goofy at that moment, but she was glad to be proving her usefulness at the first practice. James was moving to unpack the equipment and she jumped in quickly with a request.

"Can I charm that please?"

Though still smiling potter was a bit confused. "Charm the equipment you mean?" and because he had been on his best behavior with Lily all day and it was getting hard to resist he added "Or charm me?"

The jest made her hesitate and she regarded him closely with critical green eyes. She was not considering James so much as she was analyzing her own reaction to his joke slash possible come on. To her own surprise she found that while it was a little annoying she no longer felt completely harried or concerned by his sense of humor. For the first time she chose to take his rather lame attempt at hitting on her as a joke, and she found herself smiling. If this surprised her, then James was too stunned to even process what happened next.

"The equipment please. But after I'm sure I could manage to cast a  _ Silencio _ on you as well." She managed a sardonic tone, but a sweet laugh and, even more shocking, a playful shove accompanied the banter.

This felt so right. There was no shouting at each other, no irrational anger that burned on the inside long after the argument, because there had been no argument in the first place. Exchanging quips with James was much easier than fighting. And even without the  _ Silencio _ , he seemed stunned beyond words anyway.

She cast a  _ Scribonius _ charm on each of the four balls. She had been speaking with Professor Flitwick at the end of last term about a charm that could be used to help record data. She had been thinking about the quick quotes quill and how much easier it would be to record potions data if she could charm the cauldron to record the optimum temperature and number of stirs she had used for her potions. Of course the Quidditch application had become immediately apparent once she had become manager. She had three small notebooks, one for each type of ball on the field, and her charm would record data on the players who used them. It would track things like bludger accuracy, passing stats, and seeker times.

It was going to make training the team much easier for James. When she had explained the charm to him, he had been very excited by the possibilities. But Lily freely admitted he was doing a wonderful job as captain without all her fancy charms. Lily wasn't sure if she had been seeing things, but she could have sworn he had blushed at her compliment.

By now James had composed himself but Lily jumped when she felt her wand vibrate in her hand.

"What? What's wrong?" James's concern was immediate and a little overwhelming because there was nothing actually wrong.

"Nothing, my wand vibrated. I forgot I set a perimeter charm so I know when people enter the stadium, that way I can be sure there are no spying eyes. The rest of the team just got here and it surprised me a bit."

"Evans, you really are brilliant." His tone was so sincere Lily was taken aback, for not the first time today she was staggered by the sincerity and honest respect James had for her. She made a mental note to get used to it because she didn't think it would be stopping anytime soon, at least she hoped it wouldn't.

"Er…Yes. I mean, Well, I'm headed to the stands, Keep em' on their toes Captain!"

"You going to be ok up there Evans?"

She looked at him oddly for a second, confused as to why he would think otherwise, and then it dawned on her.

"Did Anne tell you I'm afraid of heights? I'm not. I'll be fine in the box."

"Why would she say you are afraid of heights if you aren't?" He obviously didn't believe her. After only a day, she knew that tone of voice meant there was no avoiding the question.

"I am afraid of flying." Telling a quiditch player she was afraid of flying was harder than telling an Irishman she was not a fan of Guinness, and she would know because she was half Irish. "Anne can't wrap her head around anyone being afraid of flying, especially not her quiditch loving roommate, so she tells people I'm afraid of heights instead."

James was dumbstruck for a moment and he obviously had similar feelings to Anne who really just couldn't believe she was telling the truth.

"Why? How on earth could anyone not like flying!" he had this thunderstruck look in his eyes, as if she had just told him she was planning on marrying Snape.

Lily just laughed and brushed him off, now was not the time to have a heart to with James. "Maybe I'll tell you some other time, but for now don't you have a practice to run Captain?"

She used Captain just as he used Evans when they were on the pitch. James had been right; it was a quiditch thing.

***

The first hour of practice had been uneventful for Lily. James was running the team through an intense conditioning regimen. So Lily began to organize the playbook. She sang softly to herself as she meticulously sorted through the bits of paper and notes that James had stuck in at random. His plays were brilliant, but it was a wonder her could find any of them in this mess.

A whoosh and the sound of feet on the wood alerted her to someone else in the box and when she looked up from her work, a very sweaty Sirius Black was striding over to her.

"Let me see this fancy charm you've got! James can't stop raving about it, and quite frankly I just want a break after all that running."

Sure enough the team was mounted up, the real fun was just getting underway.

"Well Black I knew you skived off in class, but I never thought you would be lazy at quiditch." She gestured to the books open in front of her after she put the playbook to the side. Sirius was legitimately interested in seeing her charm in action. Though he did skive off in classes he was intelligent and he had a soft spot for charms, same as Lily.

The chasers had started a pass and shoot exercise, and the notebook recording quaffle stats had started a table, recoding the passing accuracy of each chaser and the number of saves the keeper had. It even kept track of the keepers save per hoop, so after reviewing the data the keepers weaker sides could be identified.

"Evans I'll work harder knowing you are keeping track of me." Sirius made the innocent comment sound much more suggestive than Lily chose to take it.

Sirius didn't have long to admire before James hollered at him from the pitch. He was far away and muffled by the wind, but obviously unhappy with Sirius's absence.

"Oh he is just angry I've managed to swipe some time with you Lily-flower." Sirius flew off with a cheeky wink and Lily told herself he was just kidding.

Half an hour later something strange happened. Her wand vibrated. From the stands she couldn't see anyone, but that didn't mean they weren't there. She had not thought this out fully. If she had she would have some way of signaling James to say that someone uninvited was in the stadium, but as it was he would never hear her on the pitch.

She was looking franticly around trying to locate someone out of place. That's when she heard it, muffled screams from the center of the sky. But she only saw the aftermath.

A rogue bludger flying at an alarming speed was hurtling straight at Anne. She saw it in time to start moving but not far enough. Lily watched from afar as Anne quick flying saved her from a head on collision, but the bludger crashed into her upper shoulder. Lily imagined the sickening snap of Anne's collarbone as the bludger crushed into her. Lily stood rooted to her spot, horrified at the site of her friend sliding off her broom and preparing to plummet to the ground. Lily fears were playing out before her in a sick panorama staring one of her dearest friends and she felt the world tilting.

When Sam zoomed forward to catch Anne, she was jolted to her senses. Of course she should be doing something too. Lily raced to the playbook and stats ledgers, she shrunk and locked them so they would fit in her pocket and no one else would be able to open them. Lily's legs were shaking and her throat was choked with tears that she was determined to keep from falling. She hadn't really formed an idea of what she was going to do to help, but foremost in her mind was  _ 'get to Anne' _ .

She was rushing for the stairs when she heard the shout of someone flying closer, just before she heard the whistling of the bludger. There was a sickening second where she froze, the sound of Anne's collarbone cracking echoing in her head, before hurling herself to the floor. She watched as the small black ball whizzed through the stands, heard the wood splinter as it flew through the layers of construction. This was clearly not a bludger struck by a Gryffindor beater, and for some reason this bludger had chosen her as its next target. Lily had never been hit by a bludger before, but she knew it hurt. And the thought of Anne's injuries led her to believe there was something different about this particular bludger.

There was a loud bang and she covered her head as wood splintered around her. Sirius had tried to stop the bludger with a well-placed  _ Bombarda _ , but it had not been well placed at all. Some of the flying debris caught her and she felt the sting of wood scraping her arms and legs. Through the new hole in the front of the stand, Lily looked at James, Sirius and Donavon hovering on their brooms. When the two beaters saw her still on the stands, they split off from James presumably to track down the bludger. In her dazed state, all Lily really comprehended was the serious expression on James's face.

James was calling to her, but she was hearing him through a tunnel. The bludger had shocked her and Sirius's  _ Bombarda _ had left her legitimately addled. Lily pulled herself up and on shaky legs made it to the edge of the stands before she understood what James wanted.

He wanted her on his broomstick. To jump from the stands onto his broom. To fly with him.

Seconds had passed as Lily stood there, but they stretched on for what seemed like hours. She was rooted to the spot.

James was near frantic. He knew the bludger was coming back. It had made three passes at Anne before it finally hit her and moved on to its next target. Lily was white as a sheet and a little worse off after that  _ Bombarda _ . Her eyes were big bottle-green saucers and they were focused on him with unwavering intent. His stomach dropped when he heard Sirius shout from the other side of the stands, the bludger was coming back, and he hadn't budged Lily an inch. Lily heard the bludger crash through the back of the stands and she tensed further.

"Lily! You have to trust me!" As he shouted at her he thought how unfair it was. They had been friends for barely a day, after five years of intense dislike. Lily shouldn't have to trust him yet, and he understood that. But right now, her choices were James Potter or a rampaging bludger, he was hopefull she could pick him over the alternative.

There was a subtle change in her face as she steeled herself to take action, and that was James only warning before Lily flung herself off the edge towards him as the bludger crashed through the stands. James plucked her out of the air desperate to move away from the bludger and thanking the fates she had come willingly.

Being on the broom, however, did not solve the problem; it only gave him a chance to get her away. She was in front of him, hugging him tightly with her arms and legs wrapped around him. She was small enough that this hindered him minimally in his flying, and it was a good thing because it was now his flying that would get her out of harm's way.

James turned his broom down in a dive to avoid the bludger rushing at them. His flying was magnificent, even with Lily he was not too worried about avoiding the bludger zooming after them. What he was worried about was Lily's fear of flying. The daredevil trickery necessary to shake the bludger off their tail so Sirius and Donavan could catch it was going to terrify her. Lily's grip was slipping and James was afraid she would pass out so he wrapped one arm around her and pulled her snuggly against him. They were zigging and zagging around the pitch being followed by a crazy bludger and two beaters who were getting closer and closer to catching it. He felt Lily going limp again and he shook her gently.

"Come one Lily, please don't pass out. Please." He was steering one handed as it was and each dodge the bludger was getting closer. Lily acquiesced by tightening her hold on him again, her face was buried in his Quidditch robes but he heard some mumbling response.

"Sirius! Catch that bloody thing now!" He squeezed Lily tighter and mumbled against her ear "You aren't going to like this." He pulled up sharply; shooting straight into the sky fast enough that the bludger grew farther away from the tail of his broom. Far enough away that Sirius could catch it with a well-placed bombarda that was actually well placed this time.

As if on cue James heard a boom and whoop from the two beaters, the bludger had been stopped. James wasted no time in getting back on the ground.

His feet touched down and he set Lily on her feet, keeping a steadying hand her arm. James watched worriedly as she swayed dangerously before looking at him. Dazed and pale as she was her eyes looked a deeper green and there were angry red scrapes on her cheeks from the wood Sirius had sent flying.

Lily looked at James then and her body leaned into him. She had tried to keep from fainting and had done a fair job of it so far but she couldn't hold it off any longer and her eyes rolled back as she promptly crumpled, dropping towards the ground as James caught her easily.

He looked to Sirius who had landed besides him. "I should have seen that coming."

"A bit too much adventure for our little Lily?" Sirius as usual, kept his good nature even after catastrophe had struck.

"No, just a little too much flying I'm afraid." James was cradling her against his chest and Sirius grabbed his broom for him.

"Donavan and I are going to go get Madam Hooch, tell her to get control of her bludgers. Meet you at the hospital wing?"

James nodded as he walked towards the locker room carrying Lily. After such an eventful first practice he couldn't help but smile. Despite the obvious down sides there were some definite advantages to his current situation. Lily had trusted him to keep her safe from a deranged bludger. In the back of his mind he amended the word 'trusted' to 'chose to accept his help over impending doom', but for now he was content to let himself believe it was a sign of trust. And James intended to prove to Lily how deserving he was of her trust.


	5. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Surprise! I don't own Harry Potter!

There was a brief moment after Lily regained consciousness, she was awake but hadn't stirred. She allowed herself to lay content and resting near Sir Lionel curled on her pillow. His soft kittenish purrs washed over her, drowning out the pulse of wrongness in her mind. In that moment Lily knew of all the things that had happened before she fainted, knew there had been someone responsible for sneaking into the stadium and bewitching a berserk bludger to attack her best friend Anne before setting their sights on her in the box. Knew she had ridden on a broom with James Potter. Knew that he had saved her from a very unfortunate and messy encounter with said Berserk Bludger.

She also knew she had fainted, and that displeased her the most. Though as she reflected on James's flying, she was not as surprised by her uncharacteristic swoon.

What she was unsure of was how she had found herself curled in her own dorm bed resting peacefully with Sir Lionel.

In this moment of quiet, Lily acknowledged for the first time as manager of the Gryffindor team, she was pissed. It had only taken a day. And shockingly, James Potter was not at the root of her anger.

This quiditch war was absurd! She had thought it before, and she was sure her option would not change. Lily knew this attack could be attributed to the silly juvenile tactics of the inter-house competition. As the one who had spelled the practice pitch, she was also the only one aware of the real malice behind the berserk bludger.

All day she had witness and been a target of this whole new side of Hogwarts. Lily could not believe she had never noticed the antics of the quiditch war before. How on earth were these students living day by day, in constant danger and perpetually on the offensive against one another? She was stressed after just one day.

Granted her stress was also derived from the same competitive spirit that had initially sparked her interest in quiditch. It had become clear to her, this war was real. And Lily planned to quickly find her place on the battlefield.

The moments that Lily had passed in between, lying still and thinking had steeled her for the upcoming conversation she would need to have with James. He needed to know.  Anne hadn't just been unfortunate, but had been a target. Meaning she herself had also been a target.

However prepared Lily was for her upcoming conversation, she had not been expecting to find him on the end of her bed deeply engrossed in a book entitled  _ "My Muggle Pastimes, and why you need a non magical hobby" _ .

She froze when she caught sight of him, his brows slightly furrowed and his eyes scanning quickly across the page. For a split second she contemplated throwing Sir Lionel, still asleep on her pillow, at him. He deserved it for being ultimately creepy, but she quickly thought again. She really did love her cat and besides, it would not go very far towards the new leaf they were attempting to turn over in their friendship.

Instead she swiftly kicked the book in hands into his stomach with enough force to topple him unawares, right off the edge of the bed. A much more satisfying plan than using her cat as a misile. 

Lily bit her lip and mastered the strong urge to burst out laughing. She almost lost her grip when she saw an indignant James potter on his hands and knees searching her floor for his glasses. She saved herself by drawing on the shallow pool of anger she felt at his trespass on her personal space.

"Serves you right for being creepily perched on my bed! Jerk." That was a white lie. From what she had seen thus far this year, James Potter was not actually a jerk. But it was a lie she told with little remorse, adding as an after thought, "Accio Glasses."

As James glasses settled in her hands, their owner sat back on the end of her bed, careful to be out of leg range. Though James wasn't sure he didn't want Lily to try that again, being better prepared, he could turn the tables on her in an instant. But he knew it was better not to push it at this point. This realization had him smiling faintly as he thought " _ Hmm perhaps we are starting to get to know each other better _ ."

James began instead with " I see you are feeling better."

"I am. Sorry I fainted like that; it’s really not usually my thing. I've not been flying since second year though." Lily clamped her mouth shut after that statement. She occasionally had a tendency to ramble, usually in awkward situations. In their first real conversation alone, since the one on the Platform September 1st, she would rather not discuss her fear of flying.

Quickly diverting the discussion to where it really should have started, Lily asked, "How is Anne?"

James chose to let his opening to ask about her fear of flying pass, he recognized the way they were tiptoeing around each other. He was becoming more confident in their budding friendship and he expected that he would eventually get Lily to open up to him about it at a later date.

"She is ok. Madame Primrose mended her collarbone so she will be in the hospital wing over night. But Sirius volunteered to stay with her." James smiled knowingly. Prefect Lily Evans would know doubt know, no one could stay overnight as a guest of a patient in the strictly guarded hospital wing. Sure enough Lily did not disappoint.

"Why on earth would old Prim let him do that?"

This was a secret he was ready to divulge, as most of the team knew about it already. The newer members needed to learn some the Marauder secrets.

"I have an invisibility cloak actually. Sirius is hiding in it until after Prim leaves for the night."

Lily's look was incredulous. She could not decide if her prefect senses should be offended or if she should just be grateful Anne would not be left alone in the hospital wing. Lily knew Anna had never liked the hospital wing much. It reminded her of her Mother who had died in a muggle hospital the summer before second year.

"Oh. That's nice." Her answer was non-committal and rather lack luster. Lily, while perfectly nice and capable as a prefect, had not often found herself in  any one on one situations with new people. Her friendships were constant and steady; she believed her three best friends far surpassed having many less intimate friendships. Lily did not generally meet new people in a social way. And this James Potter, he was a new person, one she could no longer react to using anger and her temper as a shield. Being team manager, she had not expected to be considered a part of the team. She had expected she would be on the fringe; a helping hand who observed from the outside. The camaraderie of the whole team was a becoming whelming. James was becoming overwhelming.

Lily felt an awkward tension in the air between them and grasped for a way to break it. "There was someone on the pitch when the bludger went berserk." 

There was always the method of making it more awkward to ease tension. She really hadn't meant to spit it out like that.  _ Way to go Evans. _

At her abrupt and disturbing statement the change was evident in James immediately. In the privacy of the Gryffindor girl's dorm, he had been relaxed and almost carefree. Lily doubted in the hallways or in the great hall she would have been able to knock him off her bed. James was always alert. A side effect of his long involvement in the quiditch war, but also perhaps tempered with his upbringing. Both of his parents were renowned Aurors. Alone in her dormitory, Lily watched as his body tightened and his face hardened to a more serious James that she was becoming accustomed to.

"What do you mean?" his voice dropped to a lower timber and it shivered through her.

"My ward. My wand vibrated to indicate someone had passed the barrier I had set. And I realized, I had not thought of how would tell you if anything happened. As I was thinking of how to get your attention I heard the commotion in the sky." Lily felt herself shudder involuntarily as she though of Anne, the sound of the bone cracking that she had invented in her head, and the very real image of her friend crumpling on her broom.

"If I had thought of that before hand, Anne might not have been hit."

James regarded her with a penetrating dark gaze. "You cannot think that way Lily. Anne is fine now and I would imagine, more pissed than you have ever seen her. Knowing that the bludger was hexed will make her feel a little better, that it wasn't her flying that got her hit."

Lily didn't know what else to say. She had planned to research more on ward charms to come up with a way to identify any person who crossed the barrier. She hadn't had time in the library before practice however. She lamented not being able to identify the culprit.

James watched her fret for a moment, admiring the find lines on her face and the fall of crimson hair, hopelessly tangled with a case of bed head that almost rivaled his own. No doubt she hadn't realized that yet. The red scrapes still marred her face and there was a larger cut on her leg he hadn't noticed before, likely the aftermath of Sirius and his attempted bombarda.

"Lily, are you ok?"

He wondered at her startled expression. Large green eyes that weren't surprised necessarily, more confused and a bit uncomfortable more than anything. The slightly open O of her pink lips was more distracting than her eyes. James made these subtle observations in the background as his 16-year-old boy thoughts ran wild. No doubt he would examine that expression further.

"Yes. Yes of course I am. I really am sorry I passed out like that. That has never happened before." Lily looked down and back up quickly, suddenly eager to be alone.

"I want to take a shower James, You can be on your way. Thanks for bringing me up here and waiting to give me an update on Anne."

James knew a dismissal when he heard one; he thought about fighting her on it but again, resisted the urge to push her. Now was not the time for teasing. Maybe in the next few weeks they would build up to that.

He unfolded his long body and strode to the tapestry by her bed, pausing on the way to stroke the ears of her ginger tomcat. Looking down he smiled at her. It was a genuine smile; James made sure to convey his relief that she had come out of this relatively unscathed. He hoped somehow Lily would understand the meaning in his eyes.

As he left, James thought about how she had assumed he had waited for her to wake up so he could let her know about Anne. While that had been a plus, he had stayed for her. James just wasn't sure how he could make that known. Their new arrangement, friends who made a conscious effort not to push each other's buttons, was so new. He had to hope that one day soon, the truth in his actions would come across, with out pushing any buttons.

Until then he gathered the moments like these, collected them in his mind, one by one as they happened. Moments that told him so much more about her, and gave him oportunity to see new sides to her. They would do, these moments in time spent together. They would do until Lily realized what was between them. Just as James had realized in second year.

James had made his way through Hogwarts thus far as a jokester, happy to be underestimated, and pleased with the persona of a troublesome teenager. He knew his friends played into the same misconceptions, Sirius especially. As the heir of the Nobel house of black, Sirius was far more than the suave prankster he played at school. James held his cards in a similar hand. The house of Potter, one of the few purebred magical houses that retained a large sum of wealth and power, and had kept from falling under the thumb of this new Lord Voldemort. To all that, James was heir.

His parents were both hugely successful aurors in their day, now his father headed the department of magical law enforcement. His mother was his lead adviser. The Potter Estate was more than his home; it was a training ground. His father harped on constant vigilance, while his mother groomed him to inherit. Both his parents had done it subtly, but by the time James was 13, going into his 3rd year of Hogwarts, he knew what their purpose was. He had a solid footing for how he wanted to be seen in public. Hence the carefree trickster who was loyal to his friends, and ruthless to his enemies, careless of any rules not laid out on his terms, better known as 6th year James Potter of today.

The quiditch war, the inter-house competition, had served to keep him on his toes. His Father knew of it, had participated in his Hogwarts days, playing as Gryffindor's Keeper. James felt the weight of the quiditch war grow on his shoulders. This new information from Lily, that bludger attack was malicious. The rivalry had never veered into such dangerous territory, especially not in the first week. Perhaps some dangerous shenanigans had been pulled around the cup match, but never one so brutal.

Something about the bludger attack tugged at his mind as he walked the secret passage. The Bludger going for Anne could be explained; she was on a broom and a participant in the scrimmage. The ferocity of the bludger was the problem. But after it hit her, it didn't set its sights on another payer, like it should have. Instead the bludger had gone for Lily on the stands. The only one in the stands.

James didn't know what it all meant yet. Wasn't sure if he had enough pieces of the puzzle to work with. But he had time to ponder, time to turn the pieces around in his brain. Perhaps he would focus all the pieces that had to do with Lily Evans first.

***

Peter, small and rather uninteresting in the eyes of his peers and professors, had accepted these attributes and had bent them into his tools for carving out his place among his extraordinary Gryffindor classmates. His worth was not apparent at first to the other boys in his year, and it had taken all of first year to find his niche. But once he had found it, he realized it was rather brilliant to be unseen after all.

Peter enjoyed his silent and creeping profession. While many of his housemates in his year dedicated themselves bodily to the sport of quiditch, Peter dedicated his time and skill as an unobtrusive and seemingly unimportant mousy haired boy, sneaking through the castle and collecting information. No one was more informed about the happenings of the quiditch war than Peter. And his team benefited immensely from his skill. James, Sirius, and Remus never doubted his information and held his friendship in high esteem.

They defended him at all costs and he knew what others in their peer group whispered; they wondered why. Why would the Marauders take Peter Pettigrew as a member? At first it had been for his knack for sneaking through the castle and being an excellent eavesdropper. That skill had not only evolved into something rather masterful, but it has also landed him in situations that had undoubtedly tested his Gryffindor courage. He had past those trials and was confident in his friendships, and his abilities to aid them in this dangerous and altogether crazy plot that always thickened as quiditch matches drew closer.

Peter had seen them coming back from the pitch, saw Anne, limp and pale in the arms of a Donavon, headed towards the hospital wing. Peter pushed down the urge to hurry along his current plans in an effort to visit her sooner. But she would know where he had been, what had kept him. What he could learn now, that would help her just as much as a visit from him, probably more.

His current location in the dungeon corridor was one of his favorites. In a dreary alcove hidden behind the crumbling statue of a nameless warlock, who in life must have been quite plump, for his likeness did a marvelous job of fully concealing Peter’s slight figure. Of course in a pinch he could shift into his animagus form, but for some reason, he found it easier to give Mrs. Norris the slip as a human rather than as a rat.

Besides the portly statuary, this alcove was in prime Slytherin territory. It shocked Peter how careless the sly and cunning Slytherins could be, as they often met in many of the same locations, and most of them were in the dungeons. Presently, Snape, Avery and Knott were meeting in the classroom across from the nook concealing Peter.

Though lacking the flair of James or Sirius, and the profound knowledge of Remus, Peter had a subtly twisting skill in magic. He was very good at finding the back door in many different spells, and he had a knack for twisting spell theory to suit his needs. For instance, hearing a conversation taking place behind closed doors was an easy task for Peter with a modified Sonorus charm.

He had modified the intent of the charm, and rather than casting it on his throat, he angled his wand at his ear. He had perfected this new spell and assigned it the spell word himself.  _ Ecoutier _ . Peter found that using French had increased the power of many of the spells he cast. An odd quirk, but he did have an extensive French lineage.

The conversation in the room was of a diverting nature, dangerous, and possibly deadly to many of his friends and housemates.

Avery had at first been disgruntled and annoyed, expressing his annoyance at the others for their lack of action thus far. It was Knott who had done most of the talking, Snape had remained mostly silent. Peter was still working on a charm to help him see through walls, but he was willing to bet Snape wore his usual bored and dis-interested expression.

Avery demanded to know how they would serve the cause if they were going to be so distracted by the petty quiditch war. Knott had babbled hastily and almost sounded nervous after Avery's display of temper. Snape had let him wallow for a moment before his usual snide response cut the air.

"Because Avery, It is the perfect cover." Peter could hear Snape rolling his eyes in Avery's direction. Knott had been completely silenced. "We cannot wage all out war as students, that would not be tolerated. This petty and childish confrontation, this is the perfect cover to use as we continue to spread the masters message. Think on it. Today what happened?"

Avery responded matter-of-factly with a tone of disdain, he was clearly angry that a half blood like Snape was arguing with him. "You fools went to the quidditch pitch to have some sport with the Gryffindor team."

Peter could feel Snape's disdain all the way in the hallway. "No Avery. I attacked the two muggle borns on the Gryffindor quiditch team. And I will suffer no consequence because no one would ever jeopardize the stupid quiditch cup by revealing the nature of the quiditch war to the professors." Snape paused, presumably to fix Avery with a hard stare.

"In a few days another muggle born will be assaulted. Perhaps Potter will not be so quick next time."

Peter felt his blood boil as images of pale and limp Anne swam cross his eyes. In his mind Peter pictured Avery gaping like a fish at being spoken to in that tone. Though Peter was positive behind the stone taht sperated them, the pompous pure blood was expressionless.

"I see your point. But how does this aid in recruitment for the cause?"

The cunning grin could be heard in Snape's reply "We cannot tell the teachers, but our intentions can be slowly revealed to the students. Our desire and strength will be demonstrated all under the disguise of the quiditch war."

Knott finial broke his silence "Any Pure blood defending a muggle born is fair game too, they are dirty by association. Once they see how powerless they are against us, we will surely gain more supporters."

Avery was reluctant to give praise or approval of a plan that had not been his own. And so he abruptly changed the topic, and Peter knew it was time to be leaving. The news he had to carry to James could not wait. Visiting Anne would now become a bit more fun as he would have to sneak in after curfew.

***

The sense in staying put, next weeks homework, and hearing more news of Anne from her soon to be returning house mates were all very good reasons for Lily to take a shower and relax in her four poster. But her skin was itching, her temper was close to the surface, and her body ached to move, ached to do something familiar. She washed up and healed her cuts and bruises before changing quickly and grabbing the duffle from her trunk at the end of the bed. She transferred the contents of the beat up purple bag into her school bag, that way if anyone saw her they would assume she was slumming it in the library, doing work as she usually was.

But instead of turning left out of the portrait hole, Lily briskly walked the opposite direction, navigating the hallways and passages, until she reach one spot and paced back and forth three times.

A door appeared, large and ornate with intricate carvings and brass fixtures, It opened to what she require, a large parquet wooden floor, a bar and a wall of mirrors along one wall. In the corner stood the tall stenograph McGonagall had used fourth year to teach them all how to wizard waltz before their first Yule ball. A Dance studio.

Lily was positive she had heard the door lock behind her, and she made sure the room knew her intention of not being disturbed. This room, the space and the familiar feel of her childhood dance studio, the one she still attended over winter and summer holiday, was an unimaginable comfort. Lily pulled her wand and began the stenograph, the soft sound of piano filtered through the air, light and full of feeling.

She could vividly remember her first year when her interest in dancing had been thoroughly squashed, first implicitly by the lack of facilities and training offered in the arts at Hogwarts. And in turn, by the few reactions she had received as a firsty from other students who had not blinked an eye at heaping disdain on an 11 year old for having such a muggle hobby. In her mind, Lily reasoned that modern wizards begrudged and shunned muggle art and music because through the arts, muggles could produce magic of their own. A skilled artist or ballerina could paint or perform in such a moving way that a wizard could not reproduce with magic. 

Doubtlessly, Lily had seen it done. Just that morning, Avery had done a magical jig for her, but there had been no talent or artistry behind it. Though she had enjoyed the show.

The craze for blood purity and the magic centric life style being pushed on them all by Voldemort, his supporters, and many others in the wizzarding world had, in most cases, eliminated from her schooling anything that muggles could do as well. Dancing, Music, and art were all nixed, simply because it was not purly a wizarding accomplishment. Because it was something any muggle could do just as well or better than a wizard, and without the aid of magic.

The thought made her angry as she stretched out her sore muscles. She had been dancing all her life, at least all that she could remember. Her and Pet, they had been enrolled in dance classes by their grandmother. While her Dad was chasing every sports team in Brittan around the world, her Gran had gamely stepped up to the plate and been the mother figure they lacked, and Lily was immensely grateful for that. Dance had been the few hours a week Gran had had to herself. Dance classes had been a boon to Lily as well.

At a young age Lily had proven herself to be hopeless at sports. Her father had been a bit crushed. First no sons, and now no girls who could pretend for a few hours? At first Lily had felt the sting of that, that knowledge that she had been her fathers last chance for the boy he had wanted so badly. She knew he was happy with his two daughters. But his desire for a boy had spurred Lily into her sports infatuation. Though her interest in the daily stats page had not limited her in her growth as a dancer.

While quiditch had been for her father, Dance was only for her.

Changing the track on the player, Lily began to sink into the familiar and comforting rhythm of her warm ups. It had been a few days since she had danced. The warm tingling of her muscles quickly washed away her thoughts fo the outside, of the magical world she so loved and questioned. Her friend lying hurt in the hospital wing and the bizarre quiditch war that had put her there. The quiditch war that she was now a part of.

While her movements grew gradually more strenuous, her mind played counts and rhythms, following the soft music wafting in the room. It also occasionally whispered James Potter. Softly and quietly, so it blended in with the violins humming. But it was there. Vaguely, Lily knew, could hear his name as she reached and stretched on the floor. She knew, but wasn't ready to analyze the why.

***

In the moments following Peter's report from the dungeons, James saw nothing but red. The realization that this year would be different, would mark a change in him, a change in the wizarding world, was apparent. That students were allied to the Dark Lord, were speaking of doing his work here in the school under Dumbledore's nose. Unthinkable. Until now. It had already begun.

Anne was its first victim, lying in a bed in the hospital wing drinking a dose of skelegrow every 2 hours. And Lily, Lily could have ben right there in the bed next to her or worse.

This was unacceptable. The James Potter his father had raised simmered just below the surface as he fumed.

James immediately sent Peter to the girl's dormitory and drew out his quidditch notebook.

_ Emergency team meeting…NOW _

James emerged through the secret passage to find Peter on Lily's bed petting Sir Lionel. Charlotte was in her bathrobe by the mirror and Emily was on her bed. Sirius and Anne were in the hospital wing and could be filled in later. The rest of the team could be heard in the passage behind him, all but one.

"Where is Lily?"

Emily and charlotte shared a look, clearly at a loss.

"She wasn't here when we got back, we thought she was with you." Emily's answer was serious, but Charlotte had to chime in.

"Is she hiding in your bed cap'n? You did carry her up here after all."

Like a general, the stern mask of James face did not shift. He signaled Peter to start the meeting, and headed straight back through the passage to the boys dorm.

Of All the times for her to wander off alone, this one had to have been on purpose. What happened to not pushing buttons? What happened to working together? Day one or not, Lily knew what the quiditch war was like, had lived it and understood. She had been nearly killed by a bludger today. Lily knew he didn't want his team members going off alone.He quickly wrote in his book to her.  _ You should hope I do not find you tonight Evans. _

Thankfully, he had kept the map, as Sirius hadn't needed it to sneak into the hospital wing. He scanned, eyes roving the corridors. She was not in the library or the great hall. But he also didn't see her in the dungeons, so that was a plus.

He found her dot bouncing wildly in the room of Requirement. It was a lucky thing the marauders had managed to map it at the end of last term.

With the dot labeled lily moving so erratically, James wasn't sure what to think, he blazed a path through the portrait hole and let his anger carry him through the corridors.

He knew the room of requirement well, and had used it many times himself. But when he walked in front of the room three times thinking take me to Lily Evans, he wasn't sure where it was going to take him. When he cracked open the door, and slipped inside, he wasn't entirely sure if it had worked.

There was a wall of mirrors, a wood floor, and McGonagall's sonograph. In the center of the strange scene was a girl with Lily's red hair and her slim build wearing something tight and black, it looked like a bathing suit, under a pair of Gryffindor shorts. Her socks were tall, but they cut off at her ankles and her feet were bare.

His Anger buried beneath curiosity, James stayed in the shadows of the doorway, hiding under the arch. As he watched, the Lily in funny clothes waved her wand at the sonograph and set it down at the base of the mirror, music like James had never heard filled the room.

Lily began to move. Slow and soft, with a grace he had never seen before. She was dancing he realized. Dancing with a passion and a talent he did not know was possible. Her body brought the sound to life, gave it visceral emotion and conveyed a fuller feeling than music alone could express. At times she moved slowly lengthening her limbs in long sensuous lines. In the next beat she was wild and explosive, moving jerkily and leaping powerfully into the air, only to come back to earth softly.

James remembered in first year, the shy and adorable 11-year-old Lily asking the prefects where the dance studio was on their first trip to the common room. The sneers of his fellow classmates, his fellow pureblood classmates, had been cutting. Lily had never mentioned dance again, and it was something she was teased about for months after coming to school. Her muggle hobbies, her muggle ways, were taunts used by those afraid of loosing their purebred dominance. Watching as she danced with true amazement, the full force of what the purebred dogma of the wizarding world meant for people like Lily, and how it had altered his own perceptions, struck him full force.

James continued to stare in awe, watching her green flashing eyes in the mirrors on the wall. This was Muggle Lily, and she was magical.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side note, this story doesn't follow cannon (obvi.) and I plan on changing a lot of major plot points. Additionally, I am not sure I know enough about the 70s to really write factually in that time period. So I am just not going to worry about it!  
> In terms of Lily being a dancer, I thought a long time about it and I played the idea of her having any number of very "muggle-ish" talents. Singing and painting did not seem exclusive enough to the muggle world. I wanted to develop Lily's character to be Muggle born, to really feel what it was like being muggle born in the time when Voldemort would have been on the rise. I personally never saw much focus on the arts in Hogwarts, and that always bothered me just a bit. People write it off by saying, oh well these famous artist, painter, writer, etc. were actually wizards. That feels like cheating to me. It’s a bit like the Aguamenti spell, you can create water using magic, and you can drink it, but it just isn't as refreshing.  
> I am hoping to write a James and Lily who foil each other enough that they keep it interesting, but have enough in common to really create a lasting connection. Would love to hear some feedback!  
> Thanks!


	6. Implications and Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine!

After spending so long working on point, Lily was both exhausted and exhilarated. She had worked hard on basics today and spared little time to review her solo for the winter concert.

Her studio at home allowed the older students to plan their winter solos during the summer, so those who went away to bording schools could practice and return for the winter concert prepared to go on stage. Of course they could also have their solos cut if they were not prepared, she had seen it happen yearly to fellow dancers who did not practice while away at school. This was Lily's third year having a solo, and her sixth year practicing in secret. Where other dancers had whole dance classes dedicated to physical education and studios at their disposal, Lily had only happened upon the room of requirement in 4th year. Before that she had eked out practice time in hidden spots around the castle, an empty classroom usually, and sometimes even the prefects bathroom.

Her point solo was coming along nicely, but it was missing an ending, a pivotal point that would bring the audience to their feet. Lily knew she would find it eventually, she just needed to make sure she didn't loose too much of her practice time to this silly quiditch war. But Lily wasn't too concerned about her solo getting cut, it was September and she knew she would change it weekly until it was perfect. Today's exercise in dance had been to alleviate the tension building in her chest and to find a release from the feelings crawling through her veins.

She loved the feeling of point, it made her feel taller than life and elegant in a way she would never achieve out of her point shoes. But she always saved herself time at the end of her room of requirement rehearsals to take off her point shoes and shed the perfect ballet technique that she had worked so diligently to hone over her years of dancing. When the shoes came off she was able to branch out, it felt to her as if she was combining the Muggle ballerina Lily Evans and Lily Evans the magical Hogwarts student into one.

The music flowed through her, she could still feel the lengthening of her muscles as she stretched through her limbs and propelled herself around the room, but gone was the concern for holding herself within the confines of her ballet technique. She truly flew through the air in a way she would never be able to on a broom. Even if it were a broom James potter was flying like a mad man.

Lily knew the song was almost over, she could hear the crescendo building in the music and the private concert in her secret studio was coming to an end. In the next 30 seconds she would need to stop dancing and go back to reality outside of the room of requirement.

But not yet, not now. The end of this song was built for a turn sequence and Lily launched herself into a graceful flurry of legs and arms, propelling herself around and around. She had been working on a new way to get out of a pirouette, and there was no better time then now to try it out. Without her point shoes it was easier to center herself. Twisting her hips and swinging her leg straight, she fanner her leg up and around, straight to the sky as she through her head down towards her knees. In a flash she saw herself upside own in the mirror, sweaty and red faced but with a smile on her face she reserved for when she was dancing and when she perfected a new spell in charms. She hadn't given much thought to what she would do at the end of her fan kick, so she did her best to gracefully roll herself to the ground.

The music was over and Lily gave herself a moment to just lie on the floor staring up at the stone ceiling of her room of requiermnt studio, panting. The hard wood felt good on the heated skin of her back. She shut her eyes for a moment and just listened as the static of the sonograph spinning with no music left to play mingled with the sounds of her rapidly calming breaths. There was nothing better than dance to help her find her center of gravity after a whirlwind of a day like she had just had.

But after a moment when she opened her eyes she felt herself spiral rapidly back out of control. The brown eyes of one James Potter, former enemy number 1, were staring down at her, his face a confusing mishmash of wonder, annoyance, and furry.

Lily found that the combination did nothing for his complexion and she rather hoped he hadn't been in the room very long. If she was lucky, James had only found her a moment ago and had not witnessed her actually dancing. She could make up any old excuse for why she was in a room full of mirrors wearing what looked like a strappy black bathing suit and tights. Its not as though wizards knew what a dance studio was anyway.

"You are a dancer." Lily’s slim hope of lying her way out of her current situation had just flown straight out the metaphorical window. But James’ tone lacked the accusatory edge she was expecting, and she rather fancied she heard a glimmer of the wonder she had seen warring with his other emotions on his face.

Lily rolled gracefully up to standing before James could offer her a hand. She was able to put space between them by refusing to accept his help. Despite the lack of disproval in his tone, Lily was still waiting for James to disapprove of her use of time. The disparaging of the arts was not just a Voldemort thing. All wizards tended to disapprove of the practice of muggle hobbies. Partially out of prejudice, but also because it was easier to keep from being discovered as magical if you didn't have much in common with the non magical.Practicing a muggle hobby would only put you in the path of muggles. 

But Lily couldn't see the logic in either of those arguments. Dancing was a part of who she was just as much as magic. Just as much as her muggle family was a part of her life that she could not give up. To give up those things would be to loose herself, and Lily was determined to remain true to who she was. And well bugger him. James Potter could choke on a Pumkin Pastie if he thought he was going to tell her any differently. He would just have to forget he had seen her dancing if he didn't like it. Her own furry began to stir as she prepared to defend her passion.

"You are amazing. Truly breathtaking. Where did you learn to do that?"

Lily didn't understand him at first, the words he spoke didn't compute. They were so opposite of what she was expecting that she just couldn't wrap her head around them. But looking at James, it was clear he was not joking. The awe seemed have won out for now. His eyes were piercing and his expression approving. But the anger and annoyance were still brimming below the surface. Perhaps he had noticed her reaction to seeing him had not been the warmest, or the fact that she had backed away from him and given him her best prefect scowl at being interrupted. But James actually meant what he was saying; he was truly expressing interest in her 'dirty' muggle secret.

"I've danced as long as I can remember, coming to Hogwarts hasn't change anything, just pushed me to find new places to practice."

Lily stayed apart from him still, but her answer was honest. The anger in his face she now understood had not come from her dancing. Then, what could have him so angry?

Lily was not about to ask; the longer she could keep him in the awed frame of mind was ok with her. She had truly never had anyone from the wizarding side of her life express interest in her talent. And in her first day of friendship with James Potter, she had learned that his anger was almost always for a good reason, usually directed at something that caused himself or someone else stress or worry.

She edged slowly towards the sonograph. Her bag, wand and discarded point shoes were waiting to be packed up. She was going to ask how long he had been in her studio, when a better question came to mind.

"How did you even find me in here anyway? I create the studio exactly as I like so that the door is always locked."She expected him to be bashful in his answer, but she should have known James Potter was never bashful.

He moved in closer to her and she could see his anger an annoyance had returned. His brown eyes practically snapped and sparked with it. When she had sat down by her bag to rearrange her things, she saw those eyes looming over her and froze for a moment. She had never felt fear looking at James Potter, and maybe fear was not the word to be used. But what she felt was stronger than intimidation.

"You cannot lock the room of requirement. Anyone who wants you merely has to pass the door three times with you in mind. It will bring them straight to you. No matter who it is or what their intentions are."

Lily broke here eyes away from James. The implications of his warning and their recent quiditch war escapade revealed the true nature of James’s anger. She suddenly felt a little guilty for what she now realized looked like a harebrained attempt at going off alone, a direct snub to Anne who sat in the hospital wing regrowing a collarbone.

"But no one knew I was coming here and I was very sneaky in getting away. There was no chance of another team finding me here." She saw the anger begin to blossom further across James's face and hastily continued her explanation " I am not used to this Quiditich war, I’ve never told anyone about dancing, none of my roommates know, so I couldn't bring one of them with me. I'm sorry it was silly of me to forget."

She looked at him then, apology and her stubborn streak mingeling in her green eyes, her own indignation at this ridiculous situation coming to the front. 

"But I wont be telling anyone else, and neither will you. And I am not going to stop dancing either, so you are just going to have to deal with this. It is non negotiable." Lily waited a few beats, a little bit hesitant to face down the 6 foot 2 James Potter. "And if you ever try to intimated me like this again I will not hold back in letting you know exactly how I feel about it."

James could appreciate her talent, and he could accept her refusal to bend on this. He didn't understand why she had kept this amazing talent of hers a secret from her closest friends, but knowing that he was the only one to see her dance had a potent effect on him. They would work it out somehow, but she could not continue to come here alone, someone nefarious would spot a pattern in her movements and use it to their advantage. And anyone could figure out the trick to the Room of Requirement.

His mind had been so busy whirling with ways to solve Lily’s need for practice space, he had only just registered her final proclamation. The sudden realization brought him up short.

"Intimidate you? What are you on about Evans?"

She looked up at him from her lower stature, eyes set with glowing determination "Oh, please Potter. You come in here and tower over me, by at least a foot mind you, and think you can just start laying into me like one of your players. Well tough luck 'Captain'." Lily's use of air quotes was extremely effective in conveying her sarcasm. "I am here helping you. If you don't want to treat me like an equal you can forget it. I'll do my job however I want and I'll go where ever I want if you don't start treating me like a manger and not a subordinate."

James looked taken aback. His temper had not been abated, but hearing Lily's perspective left him a little lost. He wasn't used to his teammates talking to him like this. He knew the girls almost never took his warnings seriously, and he supposed he never really warned the other guys to watch themselves the way he did the girls. Lily was different. Lily didn't have toughened quiditch muscles; she didn't expect the other houses to go after her in the hallways.

Most of all, he didn't know Lily well enough to say for sure she could take care of herself. That was mostly his fault. And he realized this was exactly why.

"Lily, I’m sorry. I am a prat." James had tempered his anger with some humility, and was pleased to see it surprised Lily. She didn't know him as well as she thought either. 

"I can't say I'm going to change all that much but I can try." Shock had now settled perfectly onto her sweet face, and James found he quite liked the way her pink lips hung open in surprise. " But I can't be the only one trying here."

James needed her to hear the news that Peter had brought to them. The level of danger surrounding the quiditch war this year had escalated beyond what they had prepared for. Standing over her, James felt the weight of this heavy on his shoulders. Something would need to be done. But right now, he needed to navigate this new friendship thing with Lily.

"Have you read your book lately?"

She looked at him curiously for half a second before pulling her journal out from her bag. They could both see the shimmer that indicated she had notes waiting for her.

Lily felt the wave of guilt more intensely this time. James was truly not upset with her dancing, she had already realized that. He could only have been so angry because he was worried about her. She was not ready to think about the implications and complications of that thought. 

As a newly ordained friend, James had not learned much about her. A key factor in Lily’s actions was that she hated to see anyone upset over her. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne had all learned this lesson. The three girls had, of course, promptly disregarded it. But James was different. Having him worry about her, it felt foreign. She wanted to flip her hair and sashay away, brush off his concern and keep this, friendship, with James Potter as cordial as possible.

Lily was quickly realizing there would be no cordiality with James. It was going to be all or nothing and it seemed to her, the decision was clear.

Shining up at her from the pages of her book were the words  _ Emergency meeting…NOW  _ , a few urgently worded messages from Emily and Charlotte asking her if she was sleeping in the boys dorm, and the ominous  _ You should hope I do not find you tonight Evans.  _ Signed of course #7.

"So, um… what did I miss?" Smooth Evans, real smooth. Lily knew she was not the best at thinking on her feet, but she was currently sitting down, and it didn't seem to be helping.

"A fucking hell of a lot! Pardon me if I continue to sound like a prat, but damnit Evans! I told you specifically not to go anywhere alone, and what do you do? Disappear for three hours, alone, with out telling a soul where you went, not even a note to say "what ho chaps Ill be dancing my pretty head off in the room of requirement should you need me, you know incase you learn something earth shattering about the arse hole who set a wild bludger loose on the pitch today", and to top it all off you don't even check you book in the whole three hours you were gone!"

James visibly deflated after letting loose; Lily could tell he had been holding that in for a while. Hearing him say it made her feel infinitely worse. She leaned forward and tugged his hand so he sank down into a sitting position next to her on the floor.

"Look James, I am sorry. I haven't gotten to practice yet since school started and I just wasn't thinking. Dance is my escape as I imagine flying is for you. When things get complicated or stressful, dance is just what I do. I’d be lying if I said I wasn't a bit shaken up by today, but now I feel a lot better." Lily knew she was rambling, but she knew once she started there was little she could do to stop. "When I am in hear time doesn't matter I could dance forever and not notice so that's why I didn't even think to check the book. I am sorry, it wont happen again. But like I said, I really can't give it up."

It was the most sincere apology she could muster at the moment, and she hoped it would be enough because she had no desire to listen to James yell at her again.

James picked up one of her point shoes and examined it curiously, he hadn't looked up at her to confirm or deny his acceptance of her apology but he hadn't started yelling back at her yet, so this friendship thing was kind of working. Maybe? 

He held the pink satin shoe carefully in one hand and hten the other, weighing it and feeling its balance. The shoe was small in his palm, even with its extended box toe. The ribbons she used to tie around her slim ankles trailed over his fingers as he put the shoe to the ground toe first, standing it up like he knew how the shoe was used.

"You are not going to be able to come here on your own this year. I'll come with you." He held up a hand to stop her protest. "I'll bring homework or the game book, it will be fine. That way you don't have to tell anyone else. But you have to promise me you will take me with you."

Lily felt the panic shot through her. Her dancing was not accepted in this world, to share it someone felt like she was breaking a sacred rule. At the same time she felt a joy glowing dimly inside her. If James could accept it, someone else with magic might also be able to see the benefits of the muggle arts.

" Its fine if that's what you want, but this has nothing to do with quiditch James. I am not even a player, only the manager. This silly game cannot be that serious."

James had the steely look in his eyes, the one she had never noticed before they became friends, the one that made her fingertips tingle and her hairs stand on end. The look she refused to study too closely for fear of what else it make her feel. 

"That's what you missed in the meeting Lily. The quiditch war is no longer a trivial game. Peter overheard the Slytherins discussing their strategy for using the quiditch war as a cover. They plan on brining Voldemort's fight to the students. It started today with you and Anne."

Her and Anne. The only two muggleborns on the pitch during the attack.

The Quiditch war was suddenly overtaking all logic and reason in her world, and as her thoughts raced she conjured a thousand different scenarios. None of them ended well.

Well the one where she never left the room of requirement and completed all of her courses in abstentia didn't actually look too bad. All she would need to do was think of what she would want for meals and it would pop up in her dance studio.

" Lily why is there treackle tart and mashed potatoes next to the sonograph?" James's dubious question pulled Lily from her thoughts. Not for the first time since learning of the quiditch war, she was more than mildly disturbed that as of yet, nothing had been done about this situation. When it had only been quiditch on the line, she could put aside her prefect sensibilities. But these were dark, dangerous and malicious dealing if what Peter had heard was true.

"They are hear because I required them. I wont be leaving until someone…" Her pointed emerald glare left little doubt in James's mind that he was that someone, "Someone informs the professors, Dumbledor, and Maybe even the Minister of Magic of these goings on." The imperious prefect Lily Evans had just laid down the law according to her, and it was clear to James she was kind of, a little bit, freaking out.

Of all of the reactions he could have anticipated, this was the most Lily reaction he could have gotten and the one he had least expected. It was perhaps a blessing in disguise that Lily had missed the team meeting. She would be the only one to look at this from a purely logical and realistic perspective. Speaking to her separately, he only had to talk Lily off a ledge, not her and the other three quarters of the team she would have pushed to the precipice with her.

"There is no way. First off we have no proof outside of Peter's word. Imagine how it would sound ' there has been a secret interhosue war raging over the Quiditch Cup, and in the process of subterfuge and espionage, we, a small group of students operating as the Gryffindor quiditch team, have uncovered that a group of Slytherin students are in league with the dark lord Voldemort and are using said quiditch war as a cover to raise mischief and mayhem, all the while swaying the weak willed to their cause'."

When put that way, Lily wasn't sure she felt better or worse about the whole thing.

" There is no way we can go to the teachers with this. But, we can use it to our advantage."

"James Potter, I swear if you are talking about a way to win the cup I will be forced to go back to despising you." Lily was mostly joking about this, but the friendship between them was too new for her to know for sure what James had planned.

James, for his part, hid the slight stab of anger that Lily could think he would play with such a serious matter as a way to win a trivial cup. "The only way we are wining the cup is with hard work and excellent playing. What I am talking about is nailing those Slytherin bastards so we can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt they are supporters of Voldemort."

"Good, that is what I thought you meant." Lily smiled slowly, it wasn't as broad or as cheery as he had seen in the past, and nothing like the radiant smile he saw while she danced, but it was honest, and best of all it was only for him.

James helped her stand, and her hand lingering in his as they walked to the door.

"I thought you were staying, the treacle tart looks quite... treacley. Are you sure you want to go out and face this?" His playful tone concealed the true meaning of his question.

She could back out. Lily could give up her role as manager; it would make it harder for anyone to target her without raising suspicion. James had even considered asking it of her. It would make him feel much better knowing the Slytherins wouldn’t have an excuse to include her in their plans.

But a deeply selfish part of him had become to attached to having her so close to him. In so short a time James had realized there was so much more to Lily Evans than he had ever hoped. And he used to think the sun shone only for her. Seeing Lily as a real person, her flaws, that stubborn attitude of hers, and the hidden talents he never imagined she had, made it so important to hold on to this chance. There was no escaping their friendship if they were forced to work together. Not to mention how hurt she would be if he asked her to step down from her role as manager. It would ultimately do more harm than good, and they had no way of knowing just how far Slytherin was going to take it, manager or not. 

The green of her eyes had deepened slightly, the set of her brow, and the firm line of her lips was all new to James. She looked determined, determined and a little bit pissed off.

" No. No, you see I can't very well stay hidden away while my friends stand up for what is right. This is my fight more than most, being muggle born and all." She brushed off his ready response. "I can't and I won't sit by as they try to turn my own world against me." Lily smiled again, only for him, but this time it glowed. "Besides the room of Requirement seemed to think I didn't 'require' and gravy to go with my mashed potatoes, and I don't think anyone would be expected to live a life without gravy."

James and Lily walked side by side out into the corridor. James had quickly consulted the map, but in their haste to return to the Gryffindor dorm, he did not look further down the corridor. He did not see the small dot pacing just behind the corner labeled Severus Snape.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So next chapter is still being worked on! I have no updating timeline because I teach 7th grade work life is a bit unpredictable! But please let me know if you are liking where this is going!


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